The Manipulator
by Mental-Voodoo
Summary: A fan-fic purely made by me mental-voodoo . It contains violence, action, drama, romance, mild language, and mystery! Including most of the DeathNote characters, whom I love oh so much. I hope you like it. Leave your thoughts. I appreciate it.
1. Murderer

I jumped into my car and sat in the school parking lot for awhile. First day of Junior year and it was all about exams and entrance tests, I hated it. My backpack was lumped in the passenger seat as I watched the autumn leaves falling onto the ground, thinking to myself. _Those tests were easy. Why bother even--. _My train of thought was cut off as my cell phone rang loudly. I reached casually into my pocket and looked at the caller ID; Matsuda, my older brother. "Hello?" I answered simply with no enthusiasm. It wasn't normal for Matsuda to call me at this hour, maybe something was going on.

"Midori, where are you?" he asked, stuttering a bit. Matsuda was always a nervous wreck, but he was a very gentle person. He was known widely of at the task force as a detective in training, even though he had only just arrived about 2 weeks ago; straight out of college. "My car broke down and I don't have a ride home." again, you could hear the innocence in his voice. He was the older sibling, he was supposed to be taking care of _me. _

"...And? What do you want me to do?" I asked, feeling stupid for asking such an obvious question. I put the keys into the ignition and started the car, placing one hand on the wheel and pressing slightly on the gas pedal, as I drove onto the main road.

"Well, if it's not too much trouble, maybe you could come pick me up at the task force?" Matsuda coughed abruptly and spoke into the receiver again. "I'll make it up to you."

I sighed heavily and turned onto 236th as it began to rain lightly but then started coming as a downpour. "I'll be there in a few minutes. Just, try to stay dry..." I flipped my phone shut and took another right, coming to a screeching stop when a little kid ran out in front of my car. My heart was racing as I leaned back into my seat, falling with my head against the headrest. Close. I pressed onto the gas pedal again and sped off to the task force.

My car came to a stop on the side of the gigantic building known as Japan's Law Enforcement Agency. Matsuda was on the sidewalk with his briefcase over his head, his entire body dripping with rainwater. His blue overcoat was loosely over his plain white dress shirt, and his red tie was undone. What a mess. His jet black hair swayed back and fourth as he ran into my car. I moved my backpack and threw it into the back seat, hoping he hadn't seen the pack of smokes in my unzipped backpack.

"Thanks, Midori. I really do owe you." Matsuda said, dropping his briefcase by his feet and buckling his seat belt. I sat in my seat, my head turned to him as I looked my brother head to toe. "What? What's wrong?" he stuttered.

"...You're soaked." I said, pointing out the obvious. Matsuda dropped his head in despair and sighed. "What? Long day at work?" I teased, punching Matsuda's shoulder gently. He barely moved and kept his long black hair in his face. Great. Mr. I-Had-A-Bad-Day-At-Work-Leave-Me-Alone was sitting in my passenger seat. I sped off back to the house with Matsuda's head still hunched over. "So...did anything interesting happen?" _D'oh. What the hell, Midori? Stupid question. Can't you see your brother is in denial? _

"Nothing interesting. Just busted a few men here and there." Matsuda said, rising his head. "I thought maybe we would get to see some action, or have an exciting case."

Gosh. What a baby. "A case will come. Soon. Sooner than you think!" I said, optimistically, trying to cheer him up. "Just wait. Some lunatic will start a murderous rampage around Japan and you'll be on the case in no time." Matsuda's ears perked like a puppy. It was hard to believe only a month ago he had just turned 24.

"You really think? You really think something like that will happen?" he asked, as I stopped at a red light. I shrugged. "I hope so! I may only be a detective in training, but I've been a police for 3 years. I have plenty of experience in catching criminals." I pulled into Matsuda's apartment building, a beautiful building with floors and floors of gorgeous rooms. He stepped out of the car, grabbed his briefcase and thanked me for the ride.

"Wait, Matsuda." I said, stopping him before he could shut the door. "If you get a case like that, I want to know all about it." My brother smiled politely at me and headed through the double doors as I sped off over into the city where I was supposed to be meeting up with Matt, one of my neighbors and closest friends.

I walked casually into Panda Express, Matt's favorite restaurant, and spotted him in one of the farthest booths. I sat down across from him and waited for him to look up from his portable gaming system. Matt looked up and smiled softly, the smile that always got to me. "Midori, I didn't think you'd show up."

Matt had unusual taste in clothing. He wore a striped black and white long-sleeved shirt over a beige vest and goggles that he wore around his eyes all the time. However, he had luxurious red hair, which made him stand out from all of my friends. Out of all of them, Matt was my favorite. He was funny, good-looking, and laid back. There was only one feature I didn't like about him; he smoked--a lot.

"Here." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the pack of smokes that were in my backpack. "I thought you might want these. They are your favorite kind, right?" I knew the answer to that question. I knew Matt more than anyone, sometimes even better than Matt knew himself. He grabed the pack, opened it, took out a cigarette and lit it up, smoke rising from the end of the stick.

"Hey, did you hear? There have been about 25 murders today. Here, in Japan." Matt said, flicking the butt of his cigarette into the ash tray.

"Murders? 25?" I thought about it briefly through my head. "Where'd you hear that?"

"News. Channel 18. About 10 or so minutes ago." Matt said, inhaling. "The weird thing is though that the victims who were killed were released on the news with their names and faces before they died. Also, they were criminals who had escaped or have been released from prison."

I stared in utter shock. Matt did a lot of thinking on this matter. Murders happen everyday, why was this so important to Matt? "What do you suppose that means?" I asked, taking a sip of water from the glass the waiter had just brought.

"I know, I know. But this just doesn't seem right." Matt explained, smoke coming out of his mouth as he spoke. "The murders happened so closely together. They all died of heart attacks."

"Weird. That changes my murderer theory. No one can give someone a heart attack just like that." I said. "If it becomes serious, why don't you just leave it to the--" One of the waiter collapsed and fell to the floor, cutting off my sentence, seizuring and grabbing his heart. Matt and I shot up from our booth as everyone else in the restaurant started to gather in a circle. "Someone call 911! NOW!" I yelled, grabbing the waiter. Matt ran to the nearest phone and dialed.

There was only one guy, about my age, who remained seated.

I looked down at the waiter and noticed a menacing glare on his face. He grabbed my arm and pulled me down, choking me as I struggled for air. My heart slowed as the crowd tried to pull him off of me, but the waiter's grip had loosened as he passed away. I coughed brutally, trying to breathe, as Matt ran back into the restaurant. He sat down beside me, put his arm on my back, and helped me to my feet.

By the time the ambulance arrived, the waiter was long gone. Matt and I stood in silence as we watched the medics wheel out the waiter. "Midori...look." Matt said, pointing to the stretcher with the waiter on it. "He's got a gun in his left pocket..."


	2. A God Is Among Us

I asked Matt if he could drive me home that night, I didn't feel safe driving myself. On the car ride home there was a long pause, followed by awkward silences. Matt reached over and turned on the radio, hoping to cancel out the awkwardness, and lit up a cigarette. "D'you mind?" he asked, on behalf of my health.

"No. By all means." I said smiling softly. Matt shoved the cigarette in his mouth and let it hang there as both hands remained on the wheel. I turned the volume of the radio down and faced Matt when we came to a red light. "What do you think that all meant? Back there, at the restaurant."

Matt kept his gaze forward and took a drag of his cigarette. "I have no clue. But, whoever this murderer is, he's out've his fucking tree." Matt wasn't one to really care all that much for things that happened in the world, he always implied that they 'weren't his fault, so why bother?'.

The light turned green, casting a green light over Matt's face, as he sped forward across the intersection. "Maybe...maybe this world needs cleansing. Y'know? That waiter back there was an armed sex offender. There could have been a mishap. I dont think this murderer is murdering just because he can; he's murdering because he wants a cleaner world, a safe environment." I said, leaning back in my seat. "That's my guess."

I stared forward and watched the road as street lamps lit up the way and a heavy rain pounded on the Earth. There was a long pause and I knew Matt was taking my theory into consideration. I gazed outside the passenger window and noticed a large city bus with a limp driver speeding towards Matt and I. Matt looked out my window as I screamed. He put his hand on my back as I ducked and covered my head, knowing that we would be in a huge crash.

Time seemed to slow down as silence fell upon us and the bus hit us. The passenger side, the side I was sitting on, was struck first, sending the car sliding across into an empty building. Matt raised himself to his feet as I remained in the passenger seat, glass shards in the right half of my body. I felt Matt grab my arm and tug, but he had lost all of his strength from his wounds. "Hold on, Midori...I'll get you out of here..." he said, struggling to move.

I opened my eyes and noticed the same guy from the restaurant earlier standing by one of the street lamps with a notebook. "Matt...I think we're being targeted." I said.

"What are you talking about? You're probably just delusional." Matt explained, trying to catch his breath.

"No. That's Light. Light Yagami from our high school. He was at the restaurant too." I said, pointing secretly over at the tall teenager. "I think he's following us."

Matt grabbed my hands and peered at me through his goggles. "On the count of three, I'm going to pull you out the window. One...two...--" Matt tugged as I crawled carefully through the passenger window, falling to the hard pavement as Matt crumbled to his knees next to me. I felt a huge gash in the right side of my head as I leaned my head against the ground. "Midori, you okay? You took a pretty hard crash there."

I shut my eyes as I lay on the ground trying to cope with my wounds. "I...I think I'm okay." I admitted. "Probably just a few...scrapes."

I heard sirens as my side was punctured with a sharp pain. A glass shard was sticking out of my hip. I ignored it as the ambulance pulled up to Matt and I, carrying us away on stretchers and into the ambulance trucks. The doctors hooked me up to a large machine and many others, cords going left and right.

Suddenly...I passed out from too much blood loss.

I woke up the next morning in my bed. My eyes shot open and my mind raced, "Was...that just a dream?" I asked myself, feeling my head. Bandages...? It was real. I climbed out of my bed and looked for the phone. Quickly I dialed Matt's cellphone and waited for him to pick up. No answer. "Matt...umm...goddamn... Just, call me. Please." I hung up the phone and tossed it onto my bed, descending down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Midori, what are you doing out of bed?" my mother asked, feeling my forehead. "You're out of your mind if you think you're going to school today."

"Mom, what happened last night?" I said, shielding my eyes from the bright kitchen lights. "I mean...how'd I get home?"

My mother stared at me blankly. "Don't you remember? That nice young boy brought you home from the hospital. Umm...Mark, Maverick...Matt! That's it. Matt brought you home." my mother explained, handing me a glass of orange juice.

I pushed away the glass and lugged myself upstairs, changing into my everyday clothes and packing my backpack. "I have to go to school today. We're having exams in most of the core classes. Bye, mom." I headed towards the door without listening to her lecture me and walked quickly to the school which was only about 2 blocks away.

My destination before 1st bell was the A.V. Lab in the school, hoping I'd find a taping of the channel 18 news last night. "Bingo!" I said, joyfully, placing the video tape marked 'Kira case' into the vcr. A tall man with sat at a table with two other anchormen and announced the murders of this week.

"_There have been almost 45 murders this week. All the victims, however, were all criminals who either escaped prison, or were let out on bail. According to bystanders on the street, this is the best thing for this world right now."_

The camera changed to almost a hundred people gathered around the large T.V. in downtown Tokyo as people screamed happily to this story. "Kira is GOD!" one would yell. "Kira will make this world clean for us!"

"Kira...? They are referring to this murderer as Kira, the God?" I asked myself. "Does this explain the crash last night and the waiter at that restaurant?" The door to the A.V. room opened as Light Yagami stood in the doorway, staring down at me. I quickly stopped the tape and ejected it, stuffing the tape into my backpack.

"Midori, what brings you to the A.V. Lab?" Light asked, giving me a short smile. His eyes seemed to peer through my soul, like he was reading me like a book. "You don't strike me as the type to be interested in the A.V. club."

I stood up and came up to about Light's nose. "What are you doing here? You're not in the A.V. club." I shot back, defending myself.

"You're not in it either." he said, completely turning the question. A small chill ran down my spine as I shivered a bit.

I rolled my eyes and glared menacingly. "Just move out of the way, please." I said, through gritted teeth. It's not that I had anything against Light, he was just always someone I fought with. Maybe because he was too smart.

"Not until you tell me what you were doing in here." he said, pinning me up against the wall. My backpack fell from my hands and landed on the ground as my heart began to race. Light leaned in closer and smirked, "Don't think you can fool me. You were doing something, so what was it?"

My cheeks began to burn up as I felt myself begin to blush. "I wasn't doing anything you'd care for. Just watching last night's news. I missed it."

I reached slowly into my pocket for my cellphone, but Light grabbed my wrist and held it tightly. "Midori...tell me a secret..." he whispered in my ear, his mouth creeping into a menacing smile. The door swung open again as Misa Amanae, Light's girlfriend, stood in the doorway, staring confusingly at Light who was still pinning me up against the wall with his head on my shoulder. I avoided eye contact with Misa, knowing she'd freak out immediately.

"Light? What the hell are you doing!?" Misa yelled, pulling him off of me. I quickly grabbed my backpack and threw it over my shoulder. As I headed for the door, Misa blocked my path, glaring menacingly at me. "You're not going anywhere, you skank."

My hands curled into fists as I glared right back at Misa. "Move out of my way, Misa."

"What the hell were you doing with Misa's boyfriend!?" she yelled, talking in the third person. That was the most annoying thing about Misa.

"I wasn't doing anything. Light isn't someone I'd bother to do anything with. He's all yours." I explained to Misa, coming inches from her face angrily. "Besides, I wouldn't want to date someone smarter than me." Oh shit. I just complimented Light and dissed myself. Smmaaarrrtttt...

Light stepped in and put an arm around Misa as I stood there in the dark A.V. lab. "Look. Misa, I was just coming to Midori for some advice. Friendly advice." Light explained. "Nothing happened." Once Misa was distracted by Light's sappiness, I made my exit and headed for homeroom, wishing I would have smacked Misa right then and there.

Damn Misa.


	3. Abomination

"Midori, I'm sorry, I can't go with you today." Matsuda said over the other end of the phone. "I have to work on this Kira business."

"Come on, Matsuda! When I said 'some interesting case will pop up soon' I didn't mean on the same day my volunteer work was!" I sighed through the receiver. I had volunteered at the police station for one of my community projects I had to fulfill. "I have no other way to get there. You have my car and Matt's car is tot--"

"--What happened to Matt's car?" Shit. If Matsuda found out that I was in a car accident with Matt, he'd freak out worse than my parents did. "Midori, what happened?"

"I...I gotta go. It's 11 o'clock!" I hung up the phone and sighed heavily in relief. Close one. I grabbed my bus pass on the desk and ran out the door. Looks like I'd have to catch the city bus, even though I despised going on the bus. Outside it was pouring down rain and a little bit of hail, typical winter weather. The bus stop had one other person sitting under the cover and on the bench. He was tall, dark haired, and sitting in an awkward position.

_He's...not wearing any shoes..._ I said to myself, trying not to stare as I stood under the cover. There was no way I'd sit next to a stranger, not something I really wanted to do. The bus pulled in as the tall man and I boarded, heading in two different directions. My phone rang suddenly as I reached into my pocket and pulled it out, placing it against my ear. "Hello?"

"Midori Tota?" a voice I recognized as Izowa's own, one of my brothers college buddies.

"Yes...?"

"I was worried I wouldn't reach you. I already tried calling your house, and no one picked up. I'm calling to tell you news about your brother, Matsuda." My eyes widened in fear as I listened closely.

"What's wrong with Matsuda?!" I asked impatiently.

"Well...he collapsed in the office just now." Izowa said, stuttering. He was taking this hard, and telling me wasn't easy for him. I could tell. "He collapsed from cardiac arrest, a heart attack, and we believe that Kira is targeting him."

"...Heart attack?" I whispered, standing up from my seat and pulling the rope that would stop the bus. "I just spoke to him a second ago! How the hell did he get a heart attack!?" I jumped off the bus, running down the sidewalk, and passing through busy intersections. "Where is he? Is he still at the office?" I yelled into the phone, panting and trying to catch my breath.

"No. The ambulance came and took him to..." there was a pause as I waited frantically for the answer. "Byoin Hospital."

_Shit. I can't get down there in time. Byoin hospital is miles away from here. _I thought to myself, bitting my lower lip. "Izowa, do you mind picking me up and taking me to the hospital? Matsuda has my car and I just stepped off the bus."

"No problem." Izowa said through the receiver. "I'm already in my car."

"I'm on...23--." A car horn honked as a black SUV pulled up to the sidewalk. The window started to roll down as Izowa's face appeared in the drivers seat. I hopped into the car as Izowa sped off. While in the car with Izowa, who was only maybe 26 or 27, it was a bit awkward considering the silences that hushed us. The only sound was the engine of his car roaring. "Izowa, you said that the Task Force believes that Kira is targeting Matsuda, right?"

"...That's right."

"How does he know about Matsuda?" I asked, turning to face Izowa. "I mean, Matsuda hasn't been on the news, or on public T.V. So, how does Kira know about him?"

Izowa was stumped. He thought deeply about the information I had given him, but he couldn't seem to come up with an explanation. "Good point, Midori. Matsuda was even carrying around his alias name. Even though he's new, he knows better than to give away his real name."

"That's what I was thinking." I said, looking out the passenger window. "In this case, Kira must be connected to the Task Force somehow, or he could just know Matsuda personally. Either one, you should take immediate action, otherwise, the whole team is gonna get wiped out. Then what?"

Izowa pulled the car into a parking spot at the hospital, seeming like we arrived at the speed of light, and pulled the keys out of the ignition. He faced me and stared deeply into my eyes, as if he were reading my soul. "If Kira knows Matsuda personally, he probably knows you personally as well."

My heart began to race.

--

I wasn't allowed to go inside at the moment because the doctors were inside, but Izowa waited out in the hallway with me. Neither of us spoke. Izowa quietly walked back and forth as I sat on the ground, leaning solemnly against the wall next to the door. The doctors walked out of Matsuda's room and annoucned that it was safe to go inside.

I walked in quietly as Izowa followed behind me, shutting the door. Matsuda was held in a small, white recovery room with multiple wires hooked up to his bare chest as a monitor beeped softly, announcing his heart rate. His eyes were wide open and he had a small smile on his face, like he always did when he was in a good mood. "Midori, I wasn't expect--"

Before he could finish I wrapped my arms around my brother and held him tightly, burying my face on his bare shoulder. He slowly patted my forearm as a sign of reassurance, being careful of the wires still attatched to his body. I tried hard not to sob as Matsuda grabbed my hand. "Midori, what's wrong? I'm okay. Why are you so sad?"

I pulled myself away as I took a deep breath and tried to relax. "Aren't you the least bit worried?" I asked, wiping my eye. "Kira is targeting you. You could easily die just like that."

Matsuda smiled as he held my hand tightly. "No, no, Midori. You have it all wrong." he said. "I just had a heart attack because I was stressed. It was only a coincidence that I had a heart attack. I didn't die, so how could I be one of his targets?"

_All that worrying for nothing? Way to go, Midori_. "Don't be so sure, Matsuda." Izowa said, stepping in. For a minute there, I almost forgot he was in the room. "Although you lived from your heart attack, it could have just been a flaw in Kira's power. He could attack again." he explained, standing beside his friend. "You should be on your toes."

Matsuda stared blankly at his college roommate, thinking deeply about his clause. "...Izowa...? Tell the Task Force that I won't sleep a wink until Kira is caught." Matsuda sat up and rose to his feet, pulling off all the wires and I.V's on his bare chest and arm. Izowa and I stared back at Matsuda like he was crazy. How could he be so...assuring.

"Matsuda, please, you need your bed rest." I pleaded, trying to get him to reconsider. "Kira is a serial murderer. I think you should drop your position on this case." Izowa turned to face me, then glanced at Matsuda, who walked over to me and looked down at me. His tall figure over towered me as I looked up into his eyes under his shaggy black hair.

"Don't think for one second that I'll ever give up on this case." he said. Matsuda's innocent smiling face turned into a menacingly glare as he came inches from my face. "I will find Kira and dispose of him. I'll even die trying." I stared back at Matsuda as Izowa stood quietly near the door. Matsuda was completely devoted, for what reason I have no clue, and motivated to catch Kira. My heart sank as I took a step back and walked out of Matsuda's room, trotting arrogantly down the hallways.

As I walked with anger in each step, I heard Izowa say "I think you scared her, Matsuda."


	4. Encounter

I walked down to the living room from the stairs and flipped on the T.V. The letter "L" took up the entire screen with a gray background. "What's this..?" I asked myself.

"I am L. Kira, if you are watching this, be forewarned: you will be caught." the voice was sketchy, like it was disguised, which I'm sure it was. "We are very astounded by your power to kill people without even touching your victims, however, what you are doing...is evil."

What's with this guy? A detective from the Kira case was actually threatening Kira, giving him his name? "Does this guy have a death wish or something?" The clock on the wall to my left began to ring, announcing that it was 7am. I stood up, turned off the T.V. and headed out the door to school.

My phone was back at the house because something told me I wouldn't need it today. I trotted into town and watched as hundreds of citizens walked the sidewalk I was on. I didn't recognize anyone on the streets, except for Light who passed right by me, running into my shoulder. My books fell from my grasp and fell to the ground as Light turned around and smirked. I glared menacingly at him. Light wasn't usually a pain in the ass, he was always so...calm and collect.

But now he was being a total--

Light bent down and helped me collect my papers and books that were scattered on the sidewalk. "Here, let me help you." he said, reaching for a book. _What the hell...? _I looked up at him as he smiled in my direction. What was going on? Was Light having a sudden change of heart?

"That's okay. I can do it myself." I said, arrogantly. Light didn't listen. Instead, he gathered all of the books on the ground as I held four papers in my hands. We both stood to our feet as I stared down at the asphault, daring not to look Light in the eye. "...Thanks..." I said, trying not to raise my glance.

"No problem. Lets get going." Light said, leading the way to school. I sighed heavily and followed behind him, shoving my papers into my book bag. "Have you heard anything new about the Kira case, Midori?" Light asked, making small talk.

_The Kira case? What does he care?_ "...No. All I know is that Kira is still attacking."

Light stopped and I ran into his back, not watching where I was going. I stumbled backward embarrassed and bright red. He turned around and peered at me through the bangs hanging in his face. "Midori, what do you honestly think of Kira?"

My eyebrow rose as I stared at Light in suspicion. "You want my opinion on a serial killer?" I asked.

Light simply nodded and gave me that adorable, irresistible smile. "Please."

"Well, I think Kira is...don't tell anyone this, but...I think Kira is doing something good for this world." I explained, blinking twice. "I haven't heard of Kira attacking an innocent victim yet. He's just killing criminals. I think he's making a clean world, a clean environment where everyone is safe."

I looked up at Light who was still smiling. "That's a good--"

"--But, don't think I'm on his side. I don't choose sides." I said, interrupting. "Kira will be caught. And, when he is, or if he is, I would not be sad nor happy."

Light smirked and laughed softly. "Wow. I think you nailed it." he said, walking forward again. "As for me, I'm on Kira's side one hundred percent." A light rain started to fall from the sky, drizzling the citizens of Japan. I couldn't believe how dedicated Light was to Kira, much like Matsuda was to finding the serial killer. I started walking and followed behind Light as we walked onto school campus. Light stopped again once he saw Misa and looked left and right.

"Light? What's wrong...?" I asked, surveying my surroundings.

"It's...Misa..." Light stuttered. "I'm gonna go before she sees me. I'll see you later, Midori." Light shoved my books into my arms as he walked solemnly into the school, without Misa even noticing. I sighed heavily and put down my backpack on the ground, slowly putting my books into the biggest pocket. Ami, one of my preschool friends, walked over to me and held an umbrella over my head.

"What're ya doin', silly?" she asked, smiling happily. Ami was always in a good mood, but she was usually oblivious and clumsy. Although we are complete opposites, we are close friends. "Sitting on the wet ground in the pourin' down rain? You really are one of a kind, Dori."

I stood to my feet and through my backpack over my shoulder, "How many times do I have to tell you Ami? Don't call me 'Dori'."

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Ami said, smiling. "Guess who wants to see you after school?"

I stared at Ami blankly. "What are you talking about?"

"Light. Light Yagami! He stopped me just before I came here and told me to tell you that he wants to see you after school." she said in one big breath. She inhaled deeply as we stood under her pink and purple polka dotted umbrella. Light Yagami? After school? ...Something wasn't right.

Damn it. I should've brought my phone today.

--

I headed out to the courtyard after school, where Ami said Light wanted to meet me, and noticed Light there with Misa. Without thinking I walked out into plain view of the two of them. Finally realizing what I was doing, I quickly jumped behind a tree and peeked out. "What the hell are they up to?" I whispered, glaring menacingly at Misa. I stood up to leave and walked back to my house, knowing that Light and Misa would want to be alone.

I reached for my door knob and noticed that it was locked, which was unusual because my mother was always home. My hand extended to the floor mat and grabbed the spare key as the door unlocked and opened with ease. I picked up my phone on the counter and looked through my inbox, wondering if anyone had called. Surely enough, there were three calls from Matsuda. My doorbell rang just as I threw my phone onto the counter again.

My hand extended and grabbed the doorknob as I swung the door open. Light was standing in front of my house, surprisingly, without Misa Amane. "L-Light...what're you doing here?" I stuttered, amazed how he knew where I lived.

"You didn't wait for me after school." he said, smiling softly. Goddamn that innocent smile. "Didn't Ami tell you?"

"Yeah, she told me." I said, leaning against the door frame with my arms crossed arrogantly. "I saw you in the courtyard with Misa, so I left you two alone."

Light stared at me confusingly, then his eyes widened as he realized that he was spotted with Misa. "Oh...well..." he struggled to say anything, knowing I'd have a comeback. "Here, lets go take a walk." Light held out his hand as a sign for me to grab it. I refused, grabbed my jacket, and walked passed him.

"Sorry. I'm not going to grab your hand." I said, walking ahead of Light. "Your girlfriend might get mad at me."

"What? ...You mean Misa?" he asked, laughing. "Misa's not my girlfriend."

I stopped and turned to face Light. "What are you talking about?" I asked, studying Light. "Misa is always around you like a love-sick puppy, and you're telling me you two aren't intimate?"

Light simply nodded and laughed again. "I can't believe you thought I was dating Misa Amane. Movie star, and model. There's no way."

Something, _something, _told me that he was lying. Light was a very intimidating guy. I walked forward again and headed to Mochinoki Park. "So, why'd you wanna see me after school? If you're here to ask me on a date, you might want to be prepared for the worst." I said, arrogantly.

"No, no." Light said, taking a seat on a bench beside me. "I was just thinking about what you said. Remember? About Kira."

My suspicions of Light were rising greatly. What'd he care about my clause? "Yeah. What about it?"

"If Kira were to die, or get captured by the Task Force, would you really become the second Kira?" he asked, looking right into my eyes. It was almost as if he could read my thoughts, or tell if I were lying or not. Almost as if he were telepathic.

I thought deeply about the circumstances. I would have to distance myself from Matsuda and my father, they'd easily suspect me of being Kira if I spoke too much. Could I take the pressure of being called a serial killer? I looked right back into Light's eyes and smirked. "Of course...Kira is a God of cleansing, as far as I'm concerned. He's doing nothing bad; just getting rid of all the criminals. No one innocent."

Light grinned menacingly as time seemed to freeze. The lamp post above us burnt out as a rough and strong wind blew. I could hardly see Light, but I knew he was there smirking. "Then, you won't be dissapointed when I tell you that..."

He paused, and looked directly into my eyes again.

"I am Kira."


	5. Suspicions

Light and I remained under the burnt out lamp post as I stared back at him in utter shock. "You...you're Kira?" I asked, stuttering.

_I KNEW IT!!_

He simply nodded and smirked even wider. "Now, about your...allegiance." he was whispering and had moved a bit closer to me. "Considering that I'm Kira, will you help me cleanse the world? I can't do it alone, and with our smarts combined, we could easily dodge the Task Force ever suspecting us."

"Wait a second." I said, holding up my hand and interrupting Light. "How do I really know you're Kira? Anyone can say they're Kira, but can you prove it?" Light stared back at me, pulled out a black notebook and a pen.

"Easily." he replied. "Do you see that man over there? The one with the cigarette?"

This guy that Light was pointing out was tall and masculine, he seemed like a big threat to anyone. "Yeah, I see him."

"He's a registered 3rd degree murderer." Light explained, writing in his notebook. "Haru Idiki. He was never sentenced to prison because there wasn't enough evidence to prove him guilty." I looked at Light, then back at Takashi. "Only twenty more seconds."

Takashi dropped his cigarette onto the ground and grabbed his heart, falling to the asphalt. I looked back at Light as he put away the notebook and pen. "You are Kira..."

"Yes." he said, smirking again. "So, do you want to help me?"

I had to think about it again. If he was captured, then I would be under suspicion as well. Nonetheless, I'd still be considered a goddess. I smiled softly at Light as he smiled back. "I'll help you." I said.

Light took out the notebook again and extended it to me. "Go ahead. Look through it. You'll see something interesting and helpful." I grabbed the notebook and looked to Light's left, revealing a dark shinigami I hadn't noticed before.

"Can you see it too?" I asked, pointing over Light's left shoulder.

He nodded and the shinigami laughed. "This is Ryuk. He can be...a pain sometimes, but he'll be helpful. How else do you think I've made it this far?" Light asked. "The weird thing is, when people see Ryuk, they freak out. But, with you, you weren't scared at all..."

"Nope. I've seen scarier things." I said. "No...no offense, Ryuk." I smiled sympathetically at Ryuk who only narrowed his eyes. Police sirens started to sound out the silence that surrounded Light, Ryuk, and I.

"Hmm...it's already 11pm?" Light said, looking at his watch. The curfew for minors in Japan was 11pm, meaning they had to be at home by then. "The cops must have spotted us. We might wanna...run." He stood up and started to walk away as I remained on the bench. Quickly, when Light was gone, I stood up and ran the opposite way, but ended up tripping over my shoes. I fell straight to the ground and landed on my face.

"What the hell...?" I looked down at my shoes and noticed gum was stuck to the sole of my shoe. As I tried to lift myself up to my feet, a cop put a shoe on my back to hold me down and held a flashlight to my face. Shit. I was too late.

The cop that was holding me down looked in my direction confusingly, as if he were trying to figure out who I was. "...Midori Tota?" he said, taking his foot off of my back. "What are you doing here this late at night?" It was Izowa, my brother's friend.

I stood to my feet and wiped off the dirt on my clothes. "I was studying." I said, shoving my hands into my pockets. Izowa demanded to take my hands out of my pockets, for security reasons. "The lake at night helps me to focus on my work. Matsuda's the same way." Good save. I took my hands out of my pockets and crossed my arms.

Izowa put away his hand gun and rested his hands on his hips. "Well, you know the rules: minors aren't supposed to be out this late at night." he said, sighing heavily and raising his index finger. "I don't want to get you in any trouble, but I have to make sure you get home. Let me give you a ride to your house."

I needed to be more careful. Now my parents are going to be worried when I show up at the door with Izowa, in his police uniform. "Can't I just take myself home? I don't need an escort." I said, arrogantly. Izowa looked at me skeptically up and down, probably seeing if I were drunk or high or something.

"I think I'd better take you home." Izowa suggested, grabbing my arm. "It's only for safety rea--" Izowa yelped in pain as I elbowed him in his stomach. I ran quickly away from Izowa as I noticed him grab his gun. "_No way, he wouldn't shoot me..." _I thought to myself. He dropped his gun back into the holster as I ran straight into the streets, running back to my house.

Izowa, I could tell, was pissed.

--

Matt called me the next morning and told me to meet up with him at Panda Express again. "There's some people I want you to meet." he told me. Matsuda still hadn't returned my car, which made me pretty mad, considering I needed it more than he did. "I'll be there in awhile. Just, hang tight." I hung up my home phone and threw on a sweatshirt, descended the stairs, and grabbed my cell phone this time. "Mom, I'm heading out." I said, shutting the door behind me. Panda Express wasn't that far from my house, only a few blocks, but I still hated walking there.

I walked through the doors to Panda express and noticed Matt with three other guys, who all seemed about Matt's age, except for the one that was sitting funny. Casually I grabbed a chair inbetween Matt and a blonde haired man, I think, who was chewing on a piece of chocolate. "Midori, these are my closest friends."

I scoped the table. The man with jet black shaggy hair, who was sitting in the strange position was not wearing shoes,was like the man I saw before at the bus stop; the boy next to him had white hair, but he seemed only 17 or 18, and was playing with a figure plane; then, the man next to me, who had just finished the chocolate bar, almost seemed like a girl because of his long hair. "Nice to...meet you all." I said, innocently.

"Oh, that's Hideki Ryuga." Matt said, pointing the the man with black shaggy hair. "He's a freshman at To'oh university--"

"Wait a second...Hideki Ryuga?" I said, interrupting Matt. "You mean...like the singer?"

"No. The singer Hideki Ryuga has a different name. That's his stage name." Hideki explained, taking a sip of his coffee. "By the way, it is nice to meet you, Ms. Midori." his voice was low, and he talked very slowly. Something was different about him than the others, it was almost as if he could read me like a book.

I nodded slowly and tried to come up with an explanation as to why Hideki was sitting like that. "Next to him is Near, and next to you is Mello. They also attend To'oh university with Hideki." Matt explained, taking a sip of water. My phone rang loudly as I flipped it open and answered with a small "hello?"

"Do you see me?" a voice over the receiver asked. Light. "I'm in the booth just across from you." Light was sitting at the table and waved in secrecy. Julia, a girl from school who was sitting with Light, stood up and walked into the bathroom.

"Yeah." I said into my phone. "What are you doing here?" Matt and his friends stared at me confusingly.

"I want to know who everyone with you is." Light said. "The guy with the black hair keeps staring at me, as if he were--"

"--reading you like a book?" I finished, glancing at Hideki. "I know."

"I have an idea." Light hung up his phone and motioned for me to do the same. I noticed him dialing under his table as Matt and his friends engaged in socialism. My phone rang again, but this time, it was a text.

I read the text carefully, noticing it had no name, and no return phone number. "Um...Matt, take a look at this." I said, handing him my phone. He grabbed the phone and read the text message as Near, Hideki, and Mello read over his shoulder.

11:06am:  
This is Kira. Midori Tota, you are being targeted.

Matt's friends all looked at me as if to say, 'you're in deep shit.' I looked at Hideki, who looked at Near, who looked at Mello, who looked at Matt, who looked at me. "Interesting." Hideki said, rubbing his chin. "I've been studying this 'Kira case' lately. I find it rather interesting that one can kill without touching his victims." Something struck me as odd. Hideki sounded almost exactly like L on the news a few days ago. ...Nah.

"Looks like you're next, Midori." Mello said, offering me a piece of chocolate.

"No way. Why the hell would Kira tell his victim that he were going to kill them?" Matt asked, surveying the message again and again.

"Midori, may I speak to you outside for a moment?" Hideki asked, taking a sip of his drink.

I stood up from my seat and followed Hideki out of the door, being aware of my surroundings incase he was setting me up for something. "What's on your mind, Hideki?"

"Well...I'm just wondering how Kira has your phone number..." he asked. "Then again, it is possible to send a text to yourself, so i suspect that maybe you did just that, just to scare Matt and the others."

"What? You think I wrote that?" I asked, defending myself.

"Yes. And, I also believe you to be Kira by seventeen percent..." Hideki said, slouching with his hands in his pockets.

"Me? Kira? Are you out of your tree? If I were Kira, I don't think I would be able to survive the tension." I explained. "Besides, my brother is a detective. I could never hide the fact that I was Kira from him!"

"...eighteen percent."

I sighed heavily. "What do you want, Hideki? I got a message. It could just be from one of my friends, or it could have been Kira. I don't--"

"--I am L."


	6. Drastic Measures

Hideki, otherwise known as L, and I stood outside the restaurant, as time seemed to be frozen. Could this guy, this guy with such a weird appearance, really be L? His eyes pierced through me as a chill was sent down my spine. If I freak out, or even ignore him, he'll suspect me to be Kira even more. The only thing left to do was compromise. "I can picture you as L. A smart, intelligent, and very aware person... Yeah."

"Thank you." he said slowly and low. My phone rang again and another text message appeared.

11:23am:  
L. I am very impressed by your detective work.  
However, you should be more careful as to where  
you announce your real identity.

I looked up at L, who looked back at me. "You were **right** there. I never even pulled out my cell. So, how could I have sent that to myself?" I asked, defending my innocence.

L looked down at the text message and read through it carefully. "I suppose you're right." L said, rubbing his chin. "However, if you are receiving messages from Kira, then perhaps you are associated with him..."

Ah, damn. This guy really **is** L. But...how could he have noticed that? "Woah, wait a second." I said, chuckling. "I may be associated with Kira, but it doesn't mean I'm on his side."

"Still, you're a suspect. If I can't find Kira myself, I'll just have the Task Force interrogate you." L said, walking towards the double doors and handing back my phone. "Maybe you will tell us who Kira is, Ms. Midori." A large van pulled up beside me and L. My suspicions grew as the sliding door to the van opened and a gang of armed, rugged men appeared.

I dropped my phone on the sidewalk as they grabbed me and pulled me into the van, pinning me against the side of the car with a gun to my head. "Midori!!" My heart began to race as I noticed all of the strong men around me, who could easily win against me in a fight. What was going on? Was Light planning this as an attempt to get the Task Force off of his back? The man holding me up against the inside of the van wall clicked the trigger and threatened to shoot.

My eyes shut as tears started to form while I waited for the bullet to pass through my head. The van suddenly stopped and crashed, sending the man into the wall as I fell through the open door, landing hard on my back in the open road. My hands were tied securely behind my back, so it was hard to move. The men driving the van, however, were dead. The impact of the crash had killed them almost instantly, but I somehow managed to fall through the open door.

Cars screeched and dodged my body as they noticed me lying in the middle of the road. A semi truck was heading right towards me with no way to stop. I struggled to get out of the ropes that binded my wrists, but it was no use. Suddenly a hand grabbed me and pulled me out of the way of the speeding semi as I remained in the arms of my hero. He ran fast away from the locals and into an alley. Shit, more trouble?

He dropped me onto the asphault as I looked up at him and noticed Light. Light held up a gun to my forehead, the same one the rugged man in the van was holding. "L-Light...What're you doing?" What the hell was going on? I thought I was Light's "assistant", not his victim. Why was he holding a gun to my forehead? He lifted the gun, took it away from my head, as I sighed in relief. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in the side of my head as I fell to the ground; that bastard hit me in the head with the butt of the handgun.

--

I woke up a few hours later, I guess, in a chair with my wrists binded to the armrests. My heart began to race as I desperately tried to get out, but it was no use. "What the hell...?" I whispered softly. A camera was a few feet in front of me, facing in my direction, as I stared back into the lens. It wasn't on, but I had no clue what it was for. A door in the single cramped room opened, then shut, as someone entered the room.

"Comfortable...?" the voice asked. It was such a familiar voice, but why couldn't I tell who it was? Ah, damn. Why does this crap always happen to me? The man was now behind me as I felt his warm breath hit against my ear. "Don't worry...you're in good hands, Midori." A blindfold was put around my eyes as everything went dark, pitch black.

A small beep, which I recognized to be the camera, filled the room. He, whoever he was, had turned on the camera and appeared behind me again. My mind raced with horrible images, what the hell was going to happen? I struggled to get out, I kicked my feet, tried to scream, but I was bounded so tight that I could hardly even move. I stopped when I was short on breath.

"Mr. Ryuzaki, we are ready to start the interrogation." the man said behind me. Interrogation? With bounded wrists, a chair, and a blindfold?? What the hell kind of interrogation is this?

"Good. Just for the safety of your being, sir, I will not announce your identity to Ms. Midori." L's voice seeked through the intercom. That's it. The camera was documenting me in the eyes of L, and only God knows who else around him, and the room was wired so that he could hear every word I, or the man behind me, would say. "Ms. Midori, I'm sorry to go to such drastic measures, but, since you ignored my invitation to a real interrogation, we'll have to do it this way."

I don't have to speak. That's one of my rights, the right to remain silent. But, if I remained silent and didn't speak, what would they do? "Drastic Measures" didn't exactly sound good to me, so I guess I could speak..

"Ms. Midori, are you associated with Kira?" L asked, his voice low. It took awhile for me to reply, but only because I had to think about it. I remained completely still, just in case L thought that moving was suspicious activity.

"How am I supposed to know?" I asked, arrogantly. "Maybe if you guys find out who Kira really is, I could tell you. But, for now, I can't say that I am or not."

L sighed into the intercom as whispers from behind him were traded. He hushed the crowd silently, making sure I couldn't hear, and returned back to the microphone. "Ms. Midori, you received multiple text messages from Kira, correct?"

"Yes."

"Who's to say that this is all a ploy to confuse us?" L asked, slowly. "Maybe you are sending messages to yourself addressed as "Kira", and, if that's the case, then you would be highly suspicious of being Kira."

I thought about that. But, then again, L was wrong. We went over this earlier. "Who's to say that Kira really was messaging me?" I asked, mocking L. "Or, maybe, like I said earlier, it was one of my friends who thought it would be funny to send me a message addressed as Kira?"

"You seem to be very aware of your surroundings." L said. "You would make a great addition to the investigation team." Psh. No. I would never join the investigation team. If I did, I would be with my father, who is under L's wing, and Matsuda, who is on the investigation team as well. No. "However, my suspicions of you being Kira have raised greatly to about 34."

34? What did I say to raise my suspicions? "I'm sorry to say, L, that you have the wrong person." I said, smirking. "Kira is still out there on a murderous rampage and you have sweet innocent me locked up in a small cramped room and bound by my wrists to a chair... You're not getting anywhere."

There was a brief silence, then L spoke into the intercom again. "Ms. Midori, I would like to let you go now, however, we will be seeing a lot of each other." L said. There was a click as the microphone went off, and the door shut. What the hell? Isn't anyone going to let me go? The door opened again as I waited silently for someone to untie me. I felt the blindfold come undone as it fell around my neck and the ropes were untied.

Misa was tied and blindfolded just as I was earlier, a tall, middle-aged man holding and restricting her. I walked passed her silently, not wanting to get involved anymore than I already was. My vision came back to me and the brightness of the room nearly blinded me, but I could still see a soft smiling L standing in front of me. The person behind me was gone. "L, why do you go so far in your interrogations?" I asked.

"I usually don't. But, there's just something about you that makes you so suspicious..." L answered, rubbing his chin. "That and you wouldn't answer my invite to a real interrogation, as I said before."

I glared menacingly at L, who just stood there with his hands in his pockets. What was he possibly going to get out of this? I didn't give him any information on Kira, except for the fact that I wasn't him and that he was still out on a murderous rampage. Nonetheless, nothing. But, when L stood in front of me, he didn't feel like my enemy, instead, he felt like a friend. It was as if L was having a change of heart towards me. Then again, maybe that's what he wants to do, just to pull me in closer and gather information that I might accide--

"--Ms. Midori, I'm going to go grab a bite to eat at Mother Theresa's Bakery, would you care to join me?"


	7. Compromise

I followed behind L as he walked into Mother Theresa's Bakery. He opened the door and held it open for me, which was something you could never find in a guy: politeness. L walked right up to the food displays and looked into the case, as if determining which cake to buy. I felt a small tug on my shoulder as Mello, Matt's friend, appeared by my side. "Midori? ...Are you here with Hideki?" Mello asked, not knowing that I knew Hideki's true identity.

L stood up, only to slouch a bit, and noticed Mello as they both nodded, acknowledging each other's presence. "Mello, it is very good to see you again. Have you any conclusions on Kira?" L asked. Mello unwrapped a Hershey's kiss and plopped it in his mouth, then threw the wrapper over his shoulder.

"No, why don't you ask Near?" Mello said. Mello and Near were rivals, according to Mello, because Mello was considered second next to Near on the investigation team. "I mean, Near is clearly more useful than I am. ...Bastard."

"Mello, could you tell me the things that you know about Kira?" L asked, taking a seat with Mello and I in a booth. What was L doing? Was he really going to let Mello give information on Kira after concluding that I was a suspect? Something wasn't right. Matt's friends were turning against me, which must have meant...Matt was turning against me as well...

"Sure thing. I found out that Kira actually is able to--"

"--I'm going to go grab a muffin." I said, interrupting Mello before he could finish. I stood up from my seat as Mello and L watched me walk to the cashier. That was close. Whatever Mello was going to say, I'm sure it wouldn't have been good for me to listen in. L might suspect me even more of being Kira, or even his successor. I leaned against the counter and peered over my shoulder at Mello and L, who were whispering softly to each other, so softly I couldn't hear. Damn them.

_Okay, relax, Midori. If L is trying to feed you information about Kira while you are a suspect, then he must want you to give it to Kira. _I thought to myself, while tapping the counter. _Which means, if I fall for L's trap, then he'll know I am associated with Kira because he only gave the information to me...Damn you, L. _I pounded the counter angrily and tried to think a bit more about the situation._ However...If I do tell Light the information I had gathered, then L wins and I get arrested, or even killed; and if I don't tell Light, then L still wins._

The cashier returned with my muffin as I walked slowly back to the booth Mello and L were sitting at. _...Shit. It looks like L got me, and you, too, Mello. _I thought to myself as I sat down next to L. _Do I leave? _I thought to myself. _If I leave, won't that make me look suspicious? ...No. I have to leave. If I leave, then I won't gather information, but, isn't that bad? _I shut my eyes tightly as my head pounded. All this thinking was straining my brain. I can't take it.

I stood up to leave as Mello and L looked at me, as if to say 'there's no use in running'. Mello leaned over and I felt him place something in my pocket, but I ignored it and headed out the door. Along the streets, I noticed a small ticking noise as I looked around curiously, but I couldn't find anything. Maybe I was just stressed and was hearing things, yeah, that's it. "Midori !" I turned around and noticed L running to me, desperately trying to get my attention.

"Ah, damn, what does he want now?" I asked myself, sighing heavily. I turned around to walk again as L ran faster. He was right behind me as he tackled me, causing us both to fall on the ground. I landed hard on my stomach as L lay on top of me on his stomach. He rummaged through my pockets and pulled out a small ball-like thing with a red light. That was what was ticking. L threw the ball-like object into the street, making sure there was no one in the way, and covered me.

I noticed a large blast that sent shards of glass from the buildings around L and I crashing down onto us. L covered me even more and held me to the ground tightly, protecting me from the shards of the glass. What the hell was he doing? Has he completely forgotten that I was a suspect? ...L was really acting strangely. I noticed blood drip by my face, which I recognized to be L's blood. The explosion died down as L stood up and got off of me, extending his hand to help me up.

"L...what were you thinking?!" I asked, crossing my arms and avoiding eye contact with him. "You could have killed yourself!"

"...You could have died yourself, Ms. Midori." L said, slowly and low. He had shards of glass in his arms and some on his back and he was bleeding slowly.

I began to pull the glass shards out of L's back and arms as he flinched in pain. "I'm sorry...L...that you got...hurt." I managed to say. I didn't want to say it, but I did. L didn't reply, instead, he turned around, put his hands in his pockets, slouched, and walked away.

"Thank you, Ms. Midori. And...try to be more careful."

--

Light wanted to meet up with me the next morning, so I headed over to Mochinoki Park where he asked to meet me. I noticed Light sitting on the bench with a stranger beside him, and I could tell Light was not fascinated by this stranger. He hated sitting next to strangers. "Morning Light, what did you wanna see--" I stopped speaking and noticed Light with a cuff around his left wrist. The chain was about 3 feet long and connected to another wrist.

"Ms. Midori, good morning." L was on the other end of the handcuffs, attached to Light. I looked at Light who seemed annoyed, but hid it very well from L. He was a real hard ass detective. Interrogations with blindfolds, and wrist bindings, and now he cuffed himself to Light.

"Midori, this is...Hideki..." Light said, knowing L's true identity, but pretending not to know. Light was ahead of the game, if he referred to "Hideki" as "L", he would be easily announced as Kira, for only L revealed his identity to me and his investigation team. "He's...a buddy from To'oh university."

Light had recently joined To'oh university and skipped Senior year because he was eligible as a college student. "Light, please do not hesitate to speak with Ms. Midori like you normally would if I were not here." L was pushing Light to spill information about Kira, I could tell. There was no way Light was going to give in, he wasn't that arrogant. However, maybe he'd befriend L and get him to reveal his full name.

"Midori, I wanted to give you this." Light stood up, yanked L purposely, and handed me a book on calculus. I stared at Light confusingly and thumbed through the book. A piece of paper was taped to page 137.

Take the notebook in the back of the calculus book and continue my reign so I can get L off of my back. It's only for awhile until I can figure out L's real name.

I tucked the book under my arm and held it tightly. L would never guess that it had Kira's power in it, a notebook, so Light and I were in good hands. "Thanks. That calculus test is gonna be a real pain on Wednesday." I said, lying. "You're lucky you made it all the way to college already, Light."

Light chuckled, "Yeah, I'm sure. Actually, I'd rather still be in high school. But, I guess this gives me a head start to my detective career." I looked at L, who's ears seemed to perk up. Light got him. L turned to face Light and I as he bit his thumb, thinking and staring into space.

"...A detective you say?" L asked. Light turned around and faced L.

"That's correct. My father is a detective, so I want to pursue and follow his footsteps." Light said smiling.

"Well, Light, that may be a bit difficult." L said, still chewing on his thumb.

"...Why...?"

L looked directly into Lights eyes as I watched the tension between the two rise. "Criminals are prohibited to join the Task Force, that includes serial killers." Lights eyes widened, then narrowed into a menacing glare. I held the calculus book tightly under my arm as Light and L continued to speak. L looked in my direction, then down at the book. "Ms. Midori, may I see that book?" L asked, pointing to my calculus book. I hesitated to move.

"L, what do you want with a calculus book?" Light asked, trying to get L to back off.

"I'm very interested in calculus. I just want to see if there is an equation in there I don't know of." L answered. He stood up, walked over to me and reached for the book. Light stood up next to him and clenched his fist, connecting his fist to L's face and sending him flying as far as the 3 foot chain would allow. I gasped in surprise. Light was never this violent unless he was under pressure, which meant L really was getting to him.

L wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as Light ran towards L to strike again. Quickly L raised his leg and kicked Light in the face, which caused him to fall to the ground. "Light! Hideki! You guys! STOP!" I yelled, trying to get them to stop punching and kicking each other. They were on the ground rolling and holding each other by the collar of their shirts. "Guys! Please! Someone's going to see you!"

Light and L both stood to their feet, standing as far apart as the chain would allow them, and tried to catch their breath. I stayed a good distance away from Light and L, but I desperately wanted to stop them. They both ran towards each other again, grabbing one another's necks and holding them tightly. The tension between the two was incredibly high, which only made the situation worse. Light and L were like siblings, one jealous of the other, or one sibling good and the other bad.

I ran in between Light and L as they were about to fight again, but they dropped their fists. "Light, Hideki, control yourselves, please!" I said, urging them to stop. "If one of you gets hurt, what's gonna happen?" Light and L glared menacingly at each other, the tension still in the air.

Neither of them made eye contact with me, or the other. They just kept to themselves as I backed off. Light peered at L through his bangs and ran towards him. His fist was clenched as he threw it at L's face, sending L crashing to the ground. I grabbed my phone and dialed Task Force headquarters for help, but noticed L's cell phone ringing.

Quietly, not knowing what else to do, I stood and watched, trembling in fear. The two held each other by the collar of their shirts again and breathed heavily. The tension was strong, but none of them were hitting each other anymore.

Instead, they sat on the ground and arrogantly stared at the ground.


	8. Distractions

I sat at my desk at school the next morning and flipped through the death note, glancing at Light's handwriting and all of the criminals that have died. There were at least 17 pages front and back with names, some that I even recognized myself. _This is insane. _I thought to myself. _What happens if Light gets crazy with his power and starts killing innocent beings?_

"Midori, come up here and solve the equation on the board." Ms. Fuji, my science teacher, said, pointing to the white board. I stood up, walked to the white board, and stood in front of it for awhile, evaluating the equation. _Damn, I should've been paying attention. _I wrote down my educated guess and walked back to my desk, slipping the death note under my textbook. "...Is that your answer?" Ms. Fuji asked. "Who...would like to help?"

Yeah. Figures I got it wrong. I slipped the death note out and flipped through it some more. Kelvis, one of my pre-school friends, was leaning over his desk trying to sneak a peek at the death note. I quickly shut it and put it in my lap, glaring menacingly at Kelvis. "What are you doing?" I whispered. "Don't you know it's impolite to read over people's shoulders?"

"...Whatever." he said, leaning back in his chair. The bell rang as I packed my stuff and headed towards the door, only to be stopped by Ms. Fuji.

"Midori, you have an early dismissal." she said. I stared at her confusingly. I just got to school an hour ago, who was pulling me out so early? "You can head down to the office. Your brother is waiting for you there." Matsuda? I walked slowly down the halls and to the office, where I noticed Matsuda sitting in one of the chairs and reading a magazine called 'Sports Illustrated'. He looked up and noticed me standing in the door as he made his way over to me.

"Gosh, how long does it take you to get down to the office?" he asked, putting his arm around me and leading the way out of school.

"Matsuda, what are you doing here and why are you pulling me out of school so early?" I asked as I got into his, no, wait, MY car that he was still borrowing. "I mean, I just got to school an hour ago. What's the big deal?"

"Nothing. I just thought that maybe you'd like to come to work with me." Matsuda said, smiling. Shit, he didn't know that I was under suspicion as Kira. I guess L never told him, even though he's on the investigation team. "You can spend the day with me in my office. Oh! And, you'll get to meet the Chief! He's head of the investigation."

_Oh great. Just what I need. _I thought to myself. _I get to see L, not to mention Matt, who is absolutely eerie of me now that he knows I'm suspicious as being Kira. Goddamn... _Matsuda and I didn't speak much in the car. He asked me what happened at school, just to make small talk, but it was hard to answer that considering I was at school for such a short period of time. He finally pulled into Japan's Law Enforcement Agency and stepped out of the car.

"Come on, Midori, I'll show you my office." Matsuda said, holding the door open for me. God, I was going to be in a room full of people who are my enemies. How would I explain to Matsuda why everyone hates me? "Midori, come on, we're on the 15th floor."

I stepped into a dark room where I noticed L and Light, still attached at the wrist, sitting in front of large T.V. screens that documented activity in every market, shopping mall, and building. My throat felt dry. After the fight with L and Light, I didn't think L would want to be attached to Light anymore, but I guess he has to do his job. Matt was sitting at a desk with a computer, smoking a cigarette, next to Near, who sat across from him.

Matsuda walked forward to his desk as I made an excuse to go to the bathroom. I locked myself in one of the stalls and pulled out my cellphone. _I'm going to call Light and tell him that--_ I stopped and shut my cellphone. _Damn it. If I call Light, then L will hear the conversation. And, if I text him, then L could easily peer over Light's shoulder and read the message. _I gripped my head tightly as is seemed it was about to explode.

I walked out of the co-ed bathroom and opened the door, as Matt opened the other side. My glance raised to his eyes, well, his goggles, as he looked down at me with a cold stare. "...M-Matt..." I managed to spit out. "Wh-what...how are you?" He simply nodded as we both still held onto the doorknob, neither of us moving out of the way. "Look, I don't get it. Why are you mad at me? I didn't do anything. Come on, Matt. I miss you."

Matt turned around and walked away, ignoring the fact that he had to use the bathroom. I sighed and shut the door behind me, heading the opposite direction. I made my way to Matsuda's desk and sat beside him, hoping that he'd be able to tell me that everything would be okay. He never did. L walked over with Light and handed Matsuda some papers. Light and L's eyes stared in shock as they realized that I was here. "...Good morning, Ms. Midori." L said, nodding his head.

Matsuda smiled innocently at L, who stared at Matsuda as if to say 'what the hell is she doing here?'. He walked away with Light as Matsuda sorted through the papers. "...Matsuda, can I go home?" I asked, looking down at the floor. "I...I don't feel comfortable here."

"You...you can't leave, Midori." Matsuda said, turning around in his chair to face me. "I'll tell you what, at lunch, I'll take you back home, okay?"

That was the longest 3 hours of my life.

--

After Matsuda dropped me off at my house, I walked inside and plopped on the couch. Matt's shift ended in about 15 minutes, since he worked nights. I contemplated heading over to his house and trying to speak to him, but, I decided against it. My phone rang, startling me, as I flipped it open and read the message from Light.

12:45pm  
Watch the news. They'll be saying  
criminal names soon.

I grabbed my coat, headed out the door, and ignored Light's orders. There were more important matters to attend to, I didn't need to spend the rest of my day killing criminals. I walked over to Matt's house, only a few blocks away, and knocked softly on his door. The doorknob twisted as the door opened and Matt stood in front of me, looking down at me with his deep green eyes.

He started to close the door, but I stopped him before he could. "Matt, please." I said, begging for redemption. "Just, tell me what's wrong. Please..." He opened the door again and invited me in without saying a word. It was so unclear to me. Matt was one of my closest friends, and yet he was mad at me for some bizarre reason. "Come on, Matt. I may not be your friend, but you're still mine, so tell me what's wrong. Why are you mad at me?"

Matt leaned against the back of his couch and stuck a cigarette in his mouth, lighting it with a match and taking a long drag. "...You're a Kira suspect?" he asked, peering at me through his goggles. It was as if he were trying to detect nervousness or if I were going to lie to him. "Are you or aren't you!?" he yelled, demanding an answer.

"...Yes." I said, softly. "But, I'm not Kira! You have to believe me!"

He stared at me, wondering if he should believe me or not. Matt made his way over to me and stood directly in front of me, looking down into my eyes as smoke rose from the end of his cigarette. "Midori...say that again." he whispered, grabbing my hand. This must have been some sort of test, to see if my palms got sweaty out of nervousness. I remained calm and repeated it again.

"I am not Kira." I whispered, Matt still holding my hand.

He rested his head on my shoulder and whispered softly in my ear. "...Then why are you a suspect?" he asked. His warm breath, which smelled strongly of smoke, sent chills down my spine. My heart began racing. _I thought Matt was mad at me... _I thought to myself. _Why is he acting so...different?_

"...I don't know." I said, honestly. "L thinks I'm associated with Kira because of those messages he sent." Matt raised his head quickly and stared down at me again, as if I said something offensive.

"Midori, do you have your phone with you?" he asked, letting go of my hand and taking a step back. I looked at him confusingly. What the hell did he want with my phone? I grabbed my phone out of my pocket anyways and handed it to him. Matt shoved the cigarette into his mouth and let it dangle as he flipped through my messages. "There, right there! Midori, have you seen this?"

He appeared beside me and held the phone in front of us, pointing to the screen. "...Matt, what am I looking at?" I asked.

Matt pointed to the screen again. "Right there, when he said your full name!"

Oh no. Light blew it. Only people at school and a few other people knew my full name. How could he be so oblivious? "...He said my full name. So?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"You have to be associated with Kira somehow." Matt said, shutting my phone and handing it back to me. "Kira must be one of our classmates. I mean, everyone in the school knows your last name, but no one you don't know, right?"

"Matt...I...I'm scared." I lied, looking down at the ground. _I don't know what else to do other than pretend to cower in fear. If I slip up more information on Kira, Matt might suspect me of being Kira, then he'd be mad at me for lying to him--" _My train of thought was cut off as Matt lifted my chin and hugged me tightly, as if a tight hug would make me feel secure. I rested my head against his chest, where I measured up to on Matt, and listened to his heart, a soft and steady beat.

_The text! _I thought to myself, thinking of the texts that Matt flipped through. _What if he saw the text about watching the news and the criminals names? ...No, he couldn't have seen that. I deleted it...right? _I felt Matt let go of me as he lifted my chin again and stared deeply into my eyes. He lifted his goggles, threw out his cigarette and kissed me. My phone dropped out of my hand and hit the floor as I stood there in shock.

Matt grabbed my face and turned the kiss into a deep and passionate fight for dominance. My eyes shut as I thought about Light and the death note. I stopped thinking about that and focused on Matt. I walked backwards as Matt walked forwards, not wanting to stop the kiss, causing me to run into a wall. Matt pinned me against the wall and fought even more for dominance, which he easily won. I opened my eyes for a brief second and looked out the window over Matt's shoulder.

Light was standing outside the window with the death note in his hands.


	9. Borderline

I pulled away from Matt and tried to get a better look at Light through the window. _What the hell? Is he really just there, or am I just imagining things? _I thought to myself as Matt stared at me in confusion. "Midori, are you okay?" he asked, appearing behind me. "You look like you've just seen a ghost." Matt lit up another cigarette and took a drag of it as he looked out the window himself. "I don't see anything."

"Light was standing outside the window, I swear." I said, turning around and facing Matt.

"Light? Light Yagami?" Matt asked. "Isn't he attached to L by those handcuffs?"

That makes sense. If I really did see Light, I would have seen L. And since Light had the death note in his hands, there's no way it could have been him; L would have seen the death note. "...I guess I'm just...I must be overwhelmed." I said, realizing how stupid I was sounding.

"Hey, Midori, just relax." Matt said, hugging me from behind. He was warm, probably because of that beige vest, but the smoke from his cigarette was bothersome. "Tell you what, why don't you stay here tonight? If you're too scared to go home then--"

"--No, no. It's fine, Matt." I said, grabbing his arm and holding it tightly, not wanting him to let go. "I think I can make it home on my own." Matt uncoiled his arms from around me and took another drag of his cigarette.

"Are you sure? Cause, I don't have to work tonight. I'm free." he said, pulling down his goggles. Obviously, he was being suggestive. Matt wanted me to spend the night.

"Matt, how did you get that job, anyways? You're only 18." I asked, facing Matt.

"Well, I was just an assistant for Near, but then I met L and he wanted me on the investigation team. Pretty wicked, huh?" he explained, shoving a hand into his pocket. "I mean, I'm working with L on one of the most important cases at the moment."

"...Aren't you afraid to die? What if Kira finds out who you are?" I asked. Matt sat down on the couch and motioned for me to join him, which I did.

"I'm not afraid to die, Midori." he answered simply, leaning forward and resting his arms on his legs. "And if Kira ever does find out who I am, then I hope I don't die in vain."

_How can he just sit there and not worry a bit about Kira? _I thought to myself, looking down at Matt's magazines on the coffee table. Electronic Gaming Monthly. Of course. "Matt, I don't want you to die." I said, grabbing his hand and holding it tightly. He hesitated to answer, or even reply. Dammit, I shouldn't have said that.

"...I won't." he said, standing up from the couch and walking into the kitchen. I waited patiently on the couch for him to return. He returned with another cigarette in his mouth and a cell phone. "Come on. I'll take you home."

Matt lead the way out the door and proposed we walk back to my house because his car was too small and cramped. It was only about 2 in the afternoon, but it was raining pretty hard. Matt and I walked side by side and didn't speak much at all. It was as if nothing ever happened back at his house, almost as if he wanted to ignore that fact. With that thought stuck in my mind, I began to tear up, but thank God it was raining to hide it.

"Midori, you're quiet. Something on your mind?" Matt asked, pulling out his PGS.

I shook my head. "No. I'm just thinking." Matt looked at me as I smiled in his direction. "Don't worry about me. I'm just...y'know...confused."

"...Confused? About what?" Matt asked, pressing buttons on his game system.

"Nothing. It's nothing important." I said, trying not to make a big deal about it.

Matt stood in front of me, blocking the path to my house, and stared down at me, knowing that I was lying. "Nothing important?" he asked. "Are you confused about the kiss?" I felt my cheeks burning, and I knew I was blushing. Shit. I looked down to hide my blushing and despised Matt for his confrontations.

"...Well, kind of." I said. "I don't understand. Why did you do that?"

"Some people call it a 'sign of affection'." Matt said, looking down at his PGS screen. I was still confused. Was Matt saying he had something going for me? ...That would explain why he wanted me to stay the night, but Matt is definitely not acting like himself. He was never this passionate with any of his past girlfriends.

"But, I still don't understand. Why did you do that? One second you're pissed at me because I'm a suspect, then the next you're kissing me." I said, trying to keep my voice down. I didn't want to yell, it wasn't a big deal.

Matt looked up from his screen and smirked, the smile that always got me and he knew it. "Midori, you're different from other girls. You don't complain when I play my video games, and you're not constantly asking me to take you out to dinner. Why do you think none of my past relationships ever worked out?" My heart jumped, and I felt like at any moment I would pass out. I stood standing and smiled softly at Matt. He stepped out of my way and walked past me. "Good night, Midori."

--

Matsuda knocked on my door as my mother answered and hugged him tightly. He nearly lost his breath with mom's bear hug. I stood up and waited for Matsuda to come inside. "Good evening, Matsuda." I said to my brother, nodding. He lead me upstairs into his old room and leaned against the wall by the window.

"Midori, I have...a question for you." he said, scuffing his black shaggy hair. Oh great. I knew what was coming now. "...Are you really a Kira suspect? Has L placed you under suspicion?" he whispered, not wanting mom or dad to hear.

"Shouldn't you already know the answer to that question, Matsuda?" I asked, spinning in my computer chair. "I mean, if you're on the investigation team with L, then why hasn't he told you about his suspects?" Matsuda looked at me curiously. I think I may have pissed him off a bit by my childish remark.

"Are you?" he asked again, slowly loosing his patience. He looked at me menacingly, and at that moment, it was almost like standing face to face with L. Matsuda never had such a hot temper, why was he throwing all of this on me? "Midori, answer me!"

"YES!" I yelled, which I'm sure our parents could hear. Matsuda glared and crossed his arms. "Yes, okay? I'm a suspect. L believes me to be Kira by...I think 30 something percent. But, what the hell does he know, he'd suspect a piece of bread without butter on it!"

"Why didn't you tell me you were a suspect?" he whispered, now completely angry. Matsuda didn't enjoy it when people played him, and all this time I was keeping something important from him. He'd never let me live it down, but I can't just ditch Light. "Have you already been interrogated? Has...has L gone to extreme measures, just because you're a suspect? What's been happening, Midori, you're not telling me anything anymore--"

"--I can't tell you things anymore, Matsuda!" I whispered, just as pissed off as Matsuda. Were we fighting now? Matsuda and I never fought, it was almost as if we were the 'perfect' brother and sister, but I guess since we grew up and Matsuda moved, all that changed. However, that's not why we were fighting vigorously now.

"And why can't you?" Matsuda asked, standing up straight and crossing his arms arrogantly. "I'm your brother, you should be able to tell me any--"

"--You're not my brother!" I said angrily. "You're my enemy! The whole goddamn investigation team is trying to prosecute me because they think I'm Kira!" Matsuda glared at me as I glared right back. I've never fought with Matsuda, and I now know that I hated fighting with him.

"I'm not your enemy, Midori." Matsuda said, trying to calm me down. No use. "Believe me, I'm trying to help you--"

"--No you're not!" I screamed, slamming the door so that mom and dad couldn't hear us bickering. "You can't be on my side! You're too effing busy trying to find Kira with L! So how the hell are you helping me, Matsuda? Hmm? Tell me!"

Matsuda walked towards me, looked down into my eyes, and gave me a cold stare. The tension between the two of us was almost at the same level as L and Light when they were fighting. "Midori...I want to help you, I really do, but if you turn out to be Kira, or even his successor, your life will turn into hell." Matsuda was serious, and that almost scared me. The threat that came out of his mouth seemed nothing like him, not at all. Those words rang in my head as I desperately tried to take them out.

"...Is that a threat...or a promise?" I asked. Matsuda headed for the door of his old room and opened it. He glanced over his shoulder at me as a dark being seemed to swipe over him and control his entire body, as if he were possessed.

"It's both."


	10. Traitor

I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out the death note and a pen, Matsuda was going to pay for threatening me. My hand quivered as I wrote down the letters M-A-T-S-U. I stopped when I realized what I was about to do. I'm not going to kill my own brother, that'd just make me look even more suspicious. I threw the death note under my bed and sat against my wall, desperately trying not to cry.

My mother came up to my room just as I stopped crying and wiped away my last tear. "Midori, are you all right? I heard you and Matsuda yelling." she said, peeking her head through the door. "He left here in a storm. Matsuda was so upset." I stood to my feet and nodded as if nothing happened towards my mother. She shut the door and casually walked downstairs as I grabbed the death note and pulled a pen out from my desk.

The news was the same stuff as usual, deaths, suicides, new cures for disease. It wasn't until 10 minutes later that they finally started showing criminal names and faces. Light didn't exactly tell me how to use the death note but there were rules in the front, so I followed them carefully being sure to read each rule word for word.

_The human whose name is written in this note shall die. This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected. If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject's name, it will happen. If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a . After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds._

"Interesting..." my eyes beamed with amazement. "So this is how Light was killing all these criminals..." For my own entertainment, I wrote down the name of the criminal that appeared on the T.V., Ted Bundy. He was announced as holding a bank manager hostage on the news. I wrote down his name, but didn't bother to write down a cause of death and shut the notebook, waiting to see if anything happened. "40 seconds, you say?"

I watched the clock anxiously and waited for 40 seconds to pass. When it finally did, the news announced Ted Bundy's death from "natural causes". My heart began to race. This...power that Light had offered me...it was...immense. The only question was, do I give it back to Light when he asks for it back.

**L's POV**:

The news had just announced that a dangerous criminal, Ted Bundy, was holding a bank manager hostage. I rubbed my chin and thought deeply about the situation. _If Light is Kira...then there's no possible way for him to kill this criminal without me witnessing it._ I thought to myself, peering over at Light. _And if he does kill Ted Bundy...then I can confirm my suspicions and prosecute Light._

Light remained attached to my wrist as he sat quietly in his chair with his legs crossed, as if he were hiding something. I turned my attention back to the T.V. when I heard the news reporter announce Ted Bundy's death. "It was just reported that Ted Bundy has collapsed from cardiac arrest! The bank employee's are frantically running away from the building!"

"Light, may I ask you a question?" I asked, facing Light in my chair.

He looked over his shoulder at me and smirked, "Sure thing, L."

"...How did you kill that man without doing anything? You weren't even watching the news..." I asked, taking a bite of my strawberry shortcake. Light turned around completely in his chair and faced me, laughing as if I were insane.

"What are you talking about? I didn't kill him." he said, laughing even more. "L, you saw me yourself, I didn't even watch the news."

"Perhaps you have a mind control power that allows you to kill someone with only their name, while only using your brain." I said, thinking. My attention turned back to the television, which showed Ted Bundy, covered with a blanket, being taken away on a stretcher. _So...Light can not be Kira._ I thought to myself. _Then again...it could have just been a coincidence...I think I'll let him go...but not quiet yet. There's one more test I need to conduct._

**Midori's POV**:

I walked out of the house and waved solemnly to my mother. I needed air. _Since I killed a criminal, does that make me a murderer?_ I asked myself, thinking. _Don't think of that at the moment, Midori. Lets just...relax and embrace the fresh air. _My heart almost seized as Ryuk, Light's death god, jumped out in front of me. "Ryuk?! Goddamn, give me a heart att--" I stopped myself before I could say it. I just...couldn't deal with it at the moment.

"A...heart attack?" Ryuk chuckled, annoyingly, and floated by my side. "So, I see you've finally got a thing going for the death note."

"Yeah, well, don't get too comfortable." I said, arrogantly. "Eventually, you'll be back with Light."

"I wouldn't be so sure..." Ryuk said. I stopped in the middle of the alley way and stared at him as if he were insane. "The death note is a powerful being...Soon, you'll be just as addicted as Light." he chuckled again, as I began walking. "Come on, Midori, you and I both know that you enjoy the powers of that death note."

Time seemed to slow and the light post that I walked under blew out. _Maybe...he's right._ I thought to myself. _No. I only have the death note to get L off of Light's back; that's it._ "Sorry, Ryuk, but you're wrong. If I was really going to take the place of Kira, I would have killed Light by now."

Ryuk smirked and began to walk on his hands. "No matter what...you're still a serial killer, and that's that." I stopped and turned when I heard a gun shot billow in the silent night. Ryuk hopped back onto his feet and chuckled. "Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you: we're being followed."

I continued walking as if nothing happened, but quickly hid behind a dumpster. "Ryuk, I'm the only one that can hear you, right? Other than Light?" I asked, trying to make something clear.

"That's right." I peeked around the dumpster as Ryuk stood in the middle of the alley way, telling me when the culprit shooting the gun was going to appear. My heart began racing again. If I keep attracting bad things, then I'm going to get myself killed. What the hell was I doing wrong. "They're coming." Ryuk said, as I braced myself for the worst. "...Wait, there are three of them."

"Three!?" I whispered, loud enough for Ryuk to hear. "I can't take on three men!"

"Relax, only one of them has a gun." Ryuk added. I'm supposed to relax knowing that some gang of thugs, that's following me, has a gun? "They're here. On the other end of the dumpster. Do you have the death note with you?"

_I can't kill them...I don't know their names or what they look like... _I thought to myself, biting my nails. Shit. This is a tight situation. "Hey, Mello, where'd that chick go? I saw her turn into here." one of the men said. _Mello?! ...Is he trying to kill me? First the bomb, now this?_ _I could write Mello's name down in the death note, but I don't think that'd be smart. Come on, Midori, think... _I quietly sidled along the dumpster and found a large rock.

I picked it up and held it in my hands, just in case one of them tried to attack. My glance turned to Ryuk as I remembered when I first saw him and I touched the death note. _That's it! I know what to do! _I grabbed the death note from my backpack and tore a small piece of paper. _If I can get one of them to touch it, he'll run away when he sees Ryuk, then the rest of his followers will run away too after they grab the paper to see what's on it._

Mello appeared around the dumpster and smirked when he noticed me. I dropped my rock as he grabbed my arm and pinned me to the wall. To my surprise, he didn't have the gun. He noticed the piece of paper in my hand and snatched it from me. "What's this? Are you writing love notes?" he asked, flipping the paper and trying to figure out what was on it. "What's the big deal? Are you trying to trick me or something?" Mello grabbed my neck and tried to strangle me.

I pointed to Ryuk as Mello turned around and noticed the floating shinigami. He dropped me and snatched the gun from his companion, shooting wildly at Ryuk. The bullets didn't affect Ryuk at all, considering he was already dead. Mello ran out of ammo as he quickly ran. His companions called his name, trying to get him to come back. They ran after him as I brushed the dirt off of my clothes, glad that didn't turn out badly.

My hand connected with Ryuk's as I slapped him a high-five. Mello, I had just noticed, when he dropped the gun, left it on the ground. I smirked and picked up the weapon, inspecting it for something, like a camera, or a bomb, but found nothing.

"...This may come in handy."


	11. Apprehension

L had invited me back to Mother Theresa's Bakery for a "one-on-two" chat about the Kira case, considering Light was still attached to his wrist. Light and L were sitting at a table in the very back of the bakery as I made my way over. I sat opposite of the two as L greeted me kindly and Light smirked. "Good evening, Ms. Midori. Sorry to bother you at such a late hour." L said, taking a bite of his brownie. This guy was as obsessed with sweets.

"It's okay. I wasn't doing anything tonight anyways." I said, shoving my hands into my pockets. I felt the page of the death note I ripped out and folded up, since carrying around a notebook looked stupid. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"...Well, I watched the news last night and witnessed seven criminals die of heart attacks." L said, rubbing his chin and glancing at Light. "My suspicions of Light being Kira dropped significantly, considering I noticed he did not watch the news." Light peered at L through his bangs, then shifted his stare over to me and smiled softly. I could tell he was thanking me for killing the criminals mentioned on the news.

"Okay...what does that mean?" I asked, trying not to act suspicious.

"I guess that means Light and I will no longer be attached by the wrists." L said. My heart jumped. Finally I could speak to Light without L being suspicious of us. "However, there is one more thing I want to announce to both of you." I looked at L, who looked at Light, who looked at me. My mind was about to explode and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. What was he going to say? "I haven't been telling you the complete truth. My name is not really L."

Well, duh. I knew that. _What is your real name_? I wanted to ask, but decided against it. If I did that, he would suspect me to be Kira. L already knew that Kira needed a name to kill, so I refrained myself from asking that question. Light and I remained silent, but we were both anxious to find out the true identity of L.

"My real name is Elrado Coil." L said, taking a bite of his brownie again. _He's lying!!_ I thought to myself, obvious to tell. _Why would he tell his suspects his real name, unless he were lying?_ "Now that you two know that, I'd appreciate it if you two did not tell anyone my real name."

"...Sure." Light said, scratching his wrist underneath the handcuff.

"Ms. Midori?"

I looked up at L, or...Elrado...and remained calm. "I won't tell anyone..."

L raised his wrist, which involuntarily raised Light's wrist, and unlocked the handcuffs. "Thank you. Light, since your suspicion is under forty percent, I am releasing you." L said, finishing the rest of his brownie. "But, if your suspicion ever rises past 40, you'll be attached to my wrist again."

Light stood up to leave and smiled politely at L. "Sure. See you in class, Elrado." I stood up to leave as well and walked out of the bakery behind Light, glancing over my shoulder and noticing L pull out his cell phone. What was he up to now?

"Light, that's not L's real name." I said, catching up to Light. "I could tell. Why would he tell his suspects his--"

"--I know." Light said, smirking. "He can come up with as many aliases he likes, but I have an idea on how to find out his real identity." I stared confusingly at Light as we walked the streets of Japan in the pitch black dark, several street lamps lighting up the way.

"What? You...you do?" I asked, knowing he wasn't going to tell me. Light usually liked working by himself, but I didn't see how finding L's real identity could be so easy to him.

"Midori, may I have the death note back?" Light asked, holding out his hand. As much as I was dedicated to Light, I didn't want to give back the death note. All that power...it was overwhelming. _Ryuk was right_. I thought to myself. _I am addicted to the death notes power_. "Midori?"

"Huh? Oh...I don't have it with me. I left it at home." I said, telling the truth.

"That's a relief." Light said. Something wasn't right. "I'm glad you left it at home. Lets go pick it up."

"Wait a second. Why is that a relief?" I asked, interrupting Light.

"Because. I have a feeling that we're being followed." My eyes widened in shock. Was I a magnet for trouble? "If we were to be ambushed then someone else may take the death note from our possession." I jumped in front of Light, blocking his path, and stared at him confusingly.

"Are you saying that we're going to be ambushed?" I asked, suddenly feeling like Light was using me. Maybe he just wanted me to know that he was Kira so that he could get himself out of trouble. Light was about to speak when a cop car with blaring red and blue lights pulled up to us. We tried running, but both of us were tackled to the ground and handcuffed by two policemen.

I looked over my shoulder at the cop on top of my back and was amazed at who I saw. "...M-Matsuda?" he lifted me to my feet and held the handcuffs chain as he pulled me along into his cop car, his partner, Soichiro, Light's father apprehending Light. "Matsuda, what...what are you doing?"

He ignored me and threw me into his unit as I slid in next to Light in the back seat. Misa Amanae was in the back seat as well, which made me even more nervous. I sat in the middle of Light and Misa, trying not to move that much. The handcuffs that Matsuda had put me in were tight, and it hurt to even move my wrists. "Light...what's going on?" I whispered. "...Did they...did they find--"

"--No." he replied before I could finish. "We're probably just being called in for interrogation. How could they have already found out?" Light was so calm, and I envied him for it. Matsuda slammed his door shut as Soichiro put the keys into the ignition, Matsuda sliding into the passenger seat. Soichiro drove away from the street Light and I were walking on and no one spoke except for Light and I, who were whispering so that his father nor Matsuda could hear us.

"Interrogation?" I whispered. "I already went through that! I have to do it again?" Light looked at me in the eye and smiled softly.

"Are we really going to be interrogated? ...I can't be interrogated now! I have a photoshoot tomorrow!!" Misa whispered, obviously trying to gain Light's attention.

"Don't worry about it. We don't have to speak. Besides, we'll get out of this." Light whispered. "We're too smart for them."

The car slid and did a 180, turning completely around on a private dirt road. Where were we and what were we doing here? Soichiro turned the car off and left the keys into the ignition, reaching over to the glove compartment. Matsuda looked at his partner confusingly as Soichiro pulled out a handgun. "Mr. Yagami...what are you doing?" Matsuda asked. Light, Misa and I looked at his father in shock and confusion. This wasn't going to be pretty.

He turned around and faced Light in the back, putting the gun to his forehead. My eyes widened in shock. Was he really going to shoot his own son? "M-Mr. Yagami!! Have you lost your mind?!" I screamed, trying to get him to drop the gun. "Stop!!"

"Be quiet!" he demanded, loading the gun. My heart was pounding. Light's father was holding a gun to his son's head, threatening to shoot him. Matsuda was too shocked to do anything, so he just stood there, same with Light.

"Mr. Yagami, stop this!! If you kill Light you'll go to prison for murd--"

"--Midori, I have no obligation to kill you or Miss Amanae." Soichiro said, interrupting me. "However, my son and I are going to die here." he faced Light again. "If you won't admit to the police that you're Kira, then I'll stop you myself!" Soichiro had gone insane, he was about to shoot Light because he thought he was Kira. Misa and I were in shock, we were about to witness Light being shot execution style.

"Father!! I'm not Kira! You have to believe me!" Light screamed, shutting his eyes and lying. Tears started to stream down Misa's cheeks as I tried to calm her down, even though she was older than me. "Please! I'm not Kira! I'm not Kira." I was scared and for the first time, I noticed Light express his fear. "I'M NOT KIRA!" Soichiro grabbed the trigger with his finger and shut his eyes, as if contemplating whether or not to shoot. He pulled the trigger as Misa and I screamed and Light and Matsuda shut their eyes. The barrel was empty, which I'm sure Soichiro didn't know, as Light fell back against the back of the seat in relief.

I can't believe Light's own father tried to kill him.


	12. Contemplations

After another interrogation, L's suspicions of Light being Kira had raised again. Misa, Light and I were in L's office as we waited patiently for him to release us. "Well, Light, my suspicions of you have raised greatly, from what happened in the unit and what you told me in the interrogation." L said, already hearing word of what happened in the car. He stood up and grabbed the 3ft handcuffs and attached Light to his wrist again.

"Elrado, I have to go through this again?" Light asked, sighing heavily.

"I apologize, Light, but it's for security reasons." he turned to Misa and I, who were standing behind a couch, still handcuffed. "Ms. Amanae, I understand that you are also in on this "Kira" business." _What? Misa? When did Light tell Misa that he was Kira? _I thought to myself. The flashback from when Misa and Light were in the courtyard together appeared in my mind, and it was clear to me now. _That bastard! Why trust Ms. Amanae? She's not very trustworthy. _

_"_I don't know what you are talking about." Misa said, arrogantly crossing her arms. "All I do know, is that I have a photo shoot at 7am tomorrow, and it's already two in the morning!"

"That's going to have to wait, Miss Amanae." L said, turning to me. "And, finally, this all points to you, Ms. Midori." I didn't make eye contact with L. You wouldn't even begin to understand how annoyed I was by his brilliance. "I just don't understand why. You had a very bright future ahead of you."

"And I still do!" I said, connecting with L's dark beady eyes. "I am not associated with Kira! ...I'm sickened by him." Light peered at me through his bangs as I avoided eye contact with him, knowing he was looking at me. Time seemed to freeze as I could hear Light's thoughts, but, couldn't he tell that I was lying?

"...Is that so?" L asked, taking a seat and pulling Light along with him. "And...why are you sickened by him, Ms. Midori?" I froze. What was I supposed to say now? I looked at Misa and then at Light, who shrugged and crossed his arms.

"The same reason you do, 'Elrado'." I said, smirking. I walked over to L, where he was sitting, and stood at his desk, glaring menacingly. "...Because he's smarter than us." L looked directly into my eyes as the tension began to grow. Misa and Light stood on the sides as L and I smirked at one another. If you thought about it enough, L wasn't my enemy, but he wasn't my friend either. We just met under strange conditions, making us aquaintances.

"...Kira is not smarter than me, Ms. Midori." L said, plopping a strawberry into his mouth.

"Then why haven't you caught him?" I asked, whispering and leaning over his desk. L looked at me skeptically, as if I knew something he didn't; and I did.

"Mr. Coil. I have received information on Kira." L's assistant, Watari, walked through the door and into L's office. "...He's attacked again. One of the members of the investigation team has died of heart attack." _Another Kira? ...Is that possible? Who else has a death note?_

_"_Watari, who was it?" L asked, standing up from his desk.

"...It was...Izowa."

--

After L let Misa and I go, I headed over to Matt's and we drove around in his car. He said he had a "suprise" for me, which made me even more nervous. "Why can't you just tell me where we're going, Matt?" I asked, sitting anxiously in the passengers seat.

"Because. It's supposed to be a surprise. If I tell you, then it won't be a surprise anymore." Matt explained, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Takes the fun outta the whole thing." My mind raced with thoughts of Izowa. I couldn't believe that he was dead. Who else but Light and I could have killed him? Poor Izowa. He probably never saw it coming. He wasn't a criminal, so this Kira must be the exact opposite of Light.

Matt turned into an empty parking lot and I noticed him turn the car off. He unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door, stepping out of the car and opening my door for me. "Matt...why are we here? This is an old abandoned warehouse." I said. Why would Matt bring me here? There was a harsh wind blowing, which threw my hair in my face as a chill was sent down my spine. It was about 2:30am and I was still awake and about the town. Luckily, I told my parents I was spending the night with Matsuda to set things straight between us.

Pshaw. Yeah right.

I crossed my arms and tried to warm myself up as Matt surveyed the area. "...Okay, the coast is clear." he said, grabbing my hand. "Come on." Matt lead the way into the abandoned warehouse, smoking a new cigarette, and stopped in the middle of the pitch black building. "...Ready?"

A loud crash echoed throughout the warehouse as I jumped. Matt looked around desperately, trying to find some sort of light, but he couldn't find one. I waited for the darkness to adjust to my eyes, which took longer than I would have wished. "Matt what's goi--"

Matt covered my mouth as a sign to stay quiet. My eyes scattered around the room as I tried to see what was happening. A numerous amount of dark shadows roamed the room as I grabbed Matt's arm. What the hell was going on? A large blinding light flashed through the room as the building lit up, revealing a gang of rugged men with guns. ._..Did...Matt set me up for this? ...No, he couldn't have. He's not part of a gang...is he?_

I let go of Matt's arm and backed away from him, only to run into one of the rugged men with the gun. My heart was pounding as I looked at Matt, who didn't seem scared at all. Matt was still smoking the cigarette in his mouth as he smirked. "What do you want...?" he asked, keeping his hands at his sides.

"...We're Takada's bodyguards..." one of the thirteen men said, loading his gun. "Where is Takada?"

Takada? I looked at Matt, who seemed to be hiding something. "I don't have Takada. But, keep looking." he said, calmly smirking. My mind was racing; what the hell did Matt do? _Takada...I've heard that name somewhere before..._

"Shut up, you fool!" another man demanded. "We know you and your friend kidnapped Ms. Takada! Now where is she!?" _That's it! Takada was on the news last night. She was reported as kidnapped by two young men and missing for seven hours._ I looked over at Matt again, trying to understand what was going on in his mind. Matt had kidnapped someone? ...There's no way.

"...I don't know where she is." Matt said, taking a drag of his cigarette. "However, if you keep looking, maybe you'll find her." I looked around the room as all thirteen of the bodyguards loaded their guns and aimed at Matt and I. Were they really going to shoot us?

Matt reached inside the back of his vest and pulled out a gun, but one of the bodyguards shot his hand, causing him to drop the gun to the floor. I ducked as all thirteen bodyguards shot at Matt, who just stood there and allowed them to shoot.

I shut my eyes tightly and grabbed my head, trying to block out the sounds of the guns shooting. My heart skipped a beat as I heard Matt's body hit the ground and the guns silence. I opened my eyes and looked at Matt, who was only barely breathing, bullet wounds throughout his entire body. The bodyguards put away their guns and threatened to shoot me as well, which is what I really wanted if it meant not loosing Matt.

I felt myself crawling over to Matt and touching his face, blood pouring out of his mouth as he struggled to breathe. "...M-Matt..." I felt tears form around my eyes as I trembled, trying to hide my emotions. His beady green eyes peered at me through his goggles as the cigarette remained in his mouth.

"Midori..." he managed to say, coughing brutally. "...I told you I...I wouldn't die... in vain..." His eyes widened as the cigarette fell from his mouth and onto the ground. His breathing seized as I knew he had passed. I tried desperately to hold back my tears, and surprisingly I managed to do so, as the bodyguards still aimed their guns at me. A smokebomb appeared in the middle of the room as the thirteen bodyguards and I stared at it in confusion. It ignited and exploded, sending a large cloud of smoke engulf the room.

A hand grabbed my wrist as I was pulled out of the warehouse and out into an alleyway behind a dumpster. For a moment I felt scared and trapped, not knowing who it was that was holding my wrist. ...A bodyguard? No...they would have shot me by now. The person who saved me looked down at me as I looked up, not believing for a minute who had just saved me. Mello, who had attempted killing me twice, was holding me in his arms closely, covering my mouth.

And for that moment, I knew he wasn't going to kill me. "Midori, I know where Takada is." Mello whispered, peering around the dumpster. _Did he kidnap Ms. Takada with Matt?_ I thought to myself. "She's in the basement of the warehouse, but if we go back in there, we'll get killed." He thought deeply about the situation as he stood up and ran back to the warehouse, telling me to stay where I was. Disregarding his rules, I followed him back into the warehouse.

He was downstairs in the basement, where Ms. Takada was tied up in ropes and a blindfold, her mouth covered with duct tape. Mello grabbed Takada and descended back up the stairs, only to run into me. "...I'm sorry." I said, quietly, still trying to cope with Matt's death. Mello smiled softly at me and told me to follow him closely back to where the bodyguards were.

We noticed the thirteen bodyguards as they loaded their guns and pointed at Mello and I. "If you shoot us, you'll end up killing Ms. Takada as well." Mello said, smirking. I looked down into his pocket and noticed a time bomb so small that even I wouldn't have noticed it. The bodyguards seized fire, but still held their guns. Mello reached into his pocket and pulled out the bomb, setting it on the floor. "Midori...get ready." he said.

The bomb ignited as Mello threw himself onto me, protecting me from the bombs deadly blast. His body covered most of mine as I heard him yelp in pain, but not that loudly. The bombs blast died down as Mello lifted himself off of me, scoping the room. He had a large scar on the left side of his face, but, because of Mello, I managed to escape the warehouse with only a small burn. The thirteen bodyguards were all immediately killed in the blast, except for one who had taken Ms. Takada and fled the warehouse.

Mello was no longer my enemy, and I was no longer his.


	13. Release

Light again was released from L's wrist a few days ago as he appeared at my house. My mother invited him in, smiling warmly in Light's direction, as we descended up the stairs to my room. Of course, Light was here for the death note. Ryuk sat on my bed, his legs crossed and chewing on an apple, laughing maniacally. He knew this day would come soon, when I would be swiped of my powers by Light. I reached under my bed and pulled out the black notebook.

I held the notebook tightly in my hands, staring down at it with emphasis, wondering if I should give it back to him. "Midori, thanks for doing this. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be in prison by now." Light took the notebook from my hands as I easily let it go. He smiled softly and headed for the door, getting ready to leave.

"Wait, Light!" I said, before he could open the door. He turned around and looked at me curiously over his shoulder. "Umm...good luck in college." I said, smiling innocently. _What the hell was that?! 'Good luck at college, I'm a total asshole on feet.' I can't even get back something that should be rightfully mine._ I thought to myself, sighing heavily. Light smiled and headed out the door as I heard him climb down the stairs and out the door.

Shit.

Ryuk still remained on my bed as I wondered why he was still here.. "Ryuk, aren't you going to go with Light?" I asked, sorting loose papers on my desk. "He has the death note now. I'm done being Kira."

He laughed again, that annoying evil laugh, and flipped off of my bed, catching himself in mid air. "I know that wasn't the real death note. You'll have to try harder if you want to fool me." Ryuk said, smirking.

_Damn, how did he find out?_ "I don't know what you're talking about. Are you saying that there are two death notes?" I asked, turning away from Ryuk.

"Don't play stupid with me, Midori. The only thing is, how did you get Light to believe that it was the actual death note?" he asked, coming down to the ground again and swallowing the rest of his apple. "...And, how do you think he'll take it when he finds out that the death note you gave him was a fake?"

I quickly pulled my hair into a ponytail and looked at Ryuk. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see. He shouldn't take it too hard." That was a lie. Any minute now, I knew that Light was going to come back upstairs to my room in a rampage and demand the real death note. "Eh. He'll come around."

Just in case, I grabbed the real death note and opened my window, descending down my mothers wall flowers as Ryuk involuntarily followed. If Light wants the real death note, he'll have to come find me. "Midori, you're worse than Light when it comes to playing games." Ryuk said, as I jumped to the ground and ran into town. I walked casually with the death note and a pen in my left pocket, making sure that if I ran into Light, I'd be able to--

I was jumped and tackled, the person throwing us both into the street as I was pinned on the ground. My eyes widened in shock as I looked at the person pinning me down. "L-Light?! What the hell are you doing!?" I asked, trying to squirm out of his grip. Numerous cars on the busy highway skid and dodge us, as Light glared menacingly into my eyes.

"Give me the real death note. Don't think you can fool me, Midori, cause you can't!" Light said, yelling angrily inches from my face. "Now give me the real death note!" I grabbed the pen and opened the death note, threatening to write down Light's name.

"Get off of me!" I demanded, placing the pen on the paper. "If you don't get off of me, I'll--" A loud obnoxious horn of a semi truck blared, sounding out the rest of my sentence. Light didn't make any attempts to move, knowing that if he didn't, the semi would kill me. But, it would kill him as well, and I knew that he would take that risk. Running out of ideas, I threw the pen and the death note onto the side walk as Light got off of me and ran after it, not wanting to get hit by the semi.

I quickly crawled on my knees and jumped to my feet as the semi missed me by at least two inches. The force of the semi sent me crashing to the ground again as I sighed in relief, happy I was still alive. A foot pressed against my back, as I realized that Light now had the death note. _Shit. He wouldn't kill me, would he? ...No, he would. This is Kira we're talking about, a serial killer with no emotions whatsoever. _I felt my heart pounding as Light lifted his foot and I sprinted down the sidewalk, hoping that if I ran, he wouldn't be able to kill me.

I remembered the gun I had picked up from when Mello had dropped it in fear as it rested neatly on my belt. _If I stopped running and shot Light, he wouldn't be able to kill me. No. I can't do that. There are too many witnesses. Think, Midori... _I struck an idea as I ran to the old abandoned warehouse I was at a few days ago, hoping that there'd be someway to lure Light here.

As I reached my destination, the warehouse, the entire investigation team was there, confirming the building as a crime scene. I stopped in the front of the entrance and looked around, noticing all of every member of the task force._ This is insane. If I'm a suspect, none of these people going to believe me. Let alone help. _I froze when I noticed Matsuda. What do I do now? I saw Near and Mello who were also investigating, but still had no clue who to run to.

...Where was L?

Matsuda looked up and noticed me as we made sudden eye contact. I jumped and looked away, noticing him coming towards me. "...Midori, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. "This is a crime scene, there are no visitors allow--"

"--Matsuda, please! You have to listen to me!" I said, grabbing his arm. He pulled his arm out from my grip angrily, still annoyed by my presence._ Should I really tell him that Light is Kira? ...Will he believe me?_

"What is it?" he asked, finally taking an interest.

"You see, Ki--"

"--Matsuda, come here. We need your help." Near called. He seemed to be head of the investigation, considering L wasn't there.

"Wait, Matsuda! Aren't you going to listen to me?" I asked as Matsuda started walking away. He ignored my question as I looked behind me; no sign of Light yet, but I knew he was coming. I looked back at forth between Mello, Near, and Matsuda, along with the rest of the investigation team. No one was going to help me. I grabbed the butt of my gun and thought desperately of a plan as I stroked the trigger. _Maybe...No, I can't do that. I'll only look more suspicious._

I walked up to Matsuda and Near, hoping to talk to Matsuda again. "...Midori, what do you want?" he asked, sighing heavily. "I'm working. And it's real hard to stay focused when someone is constantly bothering you." Jackass. I reached for the handgun in my left belt loop, but then decided against it. "Listen, Midori, I want you to go back home. This is not a safe place for you to--"

One of the members of the investigation team fell over and grabbed his heart. My eyes widened as I realized that Light was somewhere in the building. One by one the members of the investigation team fell of heart attacks as the only people left were Mello, Near, Matsuda and I, along with four other coroners. _This is bad._.. I thought to myself. "Near, we need to get out of here fast." I said, considering he was in charge. "Kira is in the building, and, if we don't get out of here, we're all going to fall victim to his powers."

Near looked at me skeptically, as if he thought I was hiding something. I started to break out in a cold sweat. "Midori, do you know who Kira is?" Near asked. Mello and Matsuda looked at me, waiting for an answer. I sighed heavily, knowing that if I didn't tell them who Kira was, they would all eventually die. However, if Kira could hear me announce his true identity, I'd be the first to go. It was a lose/lose situation. What now?

I grabbed the chalk from Near's hand that he used to outline Matt's body and wrote on the wood floor. In small letters, I wrote L-I-G-H-T Y-A-G-A-M-I. Near, Mello, and Matsuda all looked down at the words and stared at me as if I were crazy. "Lig--"

"--SSSSHHHHH!!" I said, covering Mello's mouth. "Kira is still in the building." Light appeared in the middle of the room, as if from nowhere, and stood smirking at the eight of us. The real death note was in his hands, but he held no pen. _Good, he can't kill us. He has no writing utensil_. I thought to myself, sighing in relief. That's when I remembered one of the rules of the death note.

The user may write down the name of his/her victim using any object that can write (cosmetics, blood, pen, etc). I'm almost positive Light doesn't carry around makeup, and he wasn't bleeding, so maybe we were safe. But, that still doesn't explain how he managed to kill all of the other members of the investigation team.

Light and I made eye contact as I snickered. He pulled out a pencil, I guess that he was carrying in his pocket, and made a connection with the death note.

One of the coroner's fell to the ground, grabbing his chest in pain as he screamed. Mello and Matsuda both pulled out their handguns as Near and I stood behind them. I leaned over close to Near and whispered into his ear. "Where's L?"

He looked at me as if I were the dumbest person on Earth. "...L died of a heart attack a few days ago. We believe Kira had targeted him."


	14. Survival

Matsuda fired his gun, probably because he was shaking so much, as the bullet hit Light's hand, blood splattering onto his clothes. "Matsuda! Hold your fire! Don't shoot for unnecessary reasons!" Near called, Matsuda shaking even more. "If Light is truly Kira, we want to know his abilities before he is prosecuted."

Light began to write in blood, considering Matsuda's bullet had shattered Light's pencil, as he laughed maniacally. "What's the matter, Matsuda? You're shaking like a leaf!" Light called out, tempering with Matsuda's fear. Matsuda had never been in a situation as deadly as this one, and as Light wrote in his death note, his finger covered in blood, we were all curious as to who was going to die next.

Since no one was moving or doing anything to stop Kira, I pulled out my own handgun that Mello recognized as his, and shot Light once in the chest. Surprisingly, he only stumbled backwards and recovered easily. _What the hell? I shot him almost inches from his heart. Is he immortal or what? I_ thought to myself, holding back fire. Light began writing again and smirked in my direction, and that's when I knew he was writing down my name.

"I'm ashamed of you, Midori." he said, looking down into the book as he wrote. "You really were a big help. But, now that you have betray me, I have no choice but to send you where you belong...in HELL!" he yelled. I flinched as tears started appearing at the ring of my eyes. Great. Now I was just as scared as Matsuda. I heard another gunshot from behind me as Mello shot Light in the upper left shoulder, penetrating his collar bone. Nothing. "Don't think you can kill me. I'm immortal."

_I've gotta grab the death note...It's the only way... _I thought to myself, my hands shaking. The gun in my hand was shaking brutally because I couldn't control my fear. "Light! Stop this madness! Because of you, this world has no hope for safety anymore!" I screamed.

"This world is clean and safe because of me! I am a God of cleansing and I have yet to discontinue my powerful reign!" Light yelled. It was so strange to see Light in such a different state of mind, he was always the innocent one at school, always turning in his work, teacher's pet, perfect student. But now, he was just...evil.

"Near, we have to stop this. If we don't kill Kira, then he'll end up killing us." I said, shaking. Near looked at me skeptically, as he always did, and actually agreed with my theory. Matsuda and Mello raised their guns as I saw my vision fading. What was going on? I grabbed Near for support as he stared in confusion. My handgun dropped from my hands as I shut my eyes and grabbed my head, trying to stop the dizziness.

"Midori, are you okay?" Near asked, grabbing my arm. My heart pounded hard as it started to race. "Midori, can you hear me?" I fell forward as Near caught me before I could hit the ground, dropping to his knees and trying to keep me conscious. Near pulled out his cellphone and dialed three numbers, 911, and demanded an ambulance. I felt my forehead sweating and my heart seizing as it started to race, then slowly started slowing down.

Forty seconds had passed, but nothing happened. I was still having a heart attack at the age of 17, but I wasn't dying. There was a flaw in the death note. I heard another gunshot, followed by more and more, as Matsuda and Mello continuously started to shoot. Suddenly, I heard a loud thump as Light's body fell to the ground. Was he dead, or was he just tired? As I tried to keep my eyes open, I noticed Light stand back up on his feet, bullet wounds scattered on his chest, as he appeared almost god-like.

Light had grabbed the death note again and wrote down another name in his own blood. Mello loaded his gun as I realized that his chamber had a jam. "Mello! Don't shoot!" I screamed. His finger pulled the trigger as the gun backfired and a bullet pierced through Mello's chest, sending him crashing to the ground. He died in an instant, the bullet penetrating his heart. My body was shaking; I was cold, confused, and scared. If my calculations were correct, Matsuda was next.

I stood to my feet, grabbing my chest and trying to slow down the beating of my heart, and aimed my gun at the death note in Light's hands. If I aimed carefully, I could hit the death note and shred it to bits with three or more bullets. I loaded the gun and shot the book dead on, firing a few more bullets which tore the book to shreds. The gun in my hands overheated as it fell to the ground. I dropped to my knees and rested, my heart feeling like new as it stopped pounding.

Since the death note was destroyed, my heart attack had seized. What mysterious power.

Matsuda held his gun, aiming directly at Light, as he shook in fear still, realizing that he was on death row. "Go ahead, Matsuda. Shoot me! Come on! Shoot me, dammit!!" Light yelled, making Matsuda tremble even more. Matsuda hesitated to shoot Light, and Light knew it which only caused him to taunt Matsuda even more. "What kind of cop are you? You can't even handle a gun, let alone care for the people around you. Really, look at poor little Midori?"

My eyes had shut, and my breathing had slowed. I was no longer having a heart attack, but I had lost consciousness and Near still held me in his arms, trying to wake me up. "Shut up!!" Matsuda demanded, loading his gun. "Shut up!! I... will send you to hell!!" Matsuda was yelling now, almost as loud as Light, and his shaking had stopped. He shot one more bullet that hit Light in the place where his heart was supposed to be. But, what was happening? Light was still alive.

Suddenly, Light's eyes widened as he grabbed his chest. He dropped to his knees and crawled towards Matsuda, who just stood his ground and looked down at Light as if he were filthy scum. Light reached for Matsuda as he continued to crawl on the ground, but his heart seized and stopped beating as he dropped to the ground. A beam of light shone down on his limp body as he lay dead in front of Matsuda.

Finally, it was all over.

--

I woke up in the hospital with Matsuda and Near on my bedside, waiting patiently for me to wake up. A whole team of investigators had died, but the three of us somehow managed to survive. What're the odds? I was still grieving, however, the fact that Mello was no longer alive.

"Midori, you're awake!" Matsuda said, happily. He was a mess. His hair in his face, his blue suit all dirty and splattered with little spots of blood, and he had bags under his eyes. How long was I out? He leaned forward in his seat as Near sat in his playing diligently with model airplanes. "We were beginning to worry that you wouldn't wake up."

I looked at Near, who looked back at me and smiled softly. "Midori, I have a question for you." he said, placing his model airplanes on the counter beside my bed.

"Shoot." I said, leaning forward a bit. Wires and cords were connected to my body as they fled off left and right, hooked to numerous machines.

"Why didn't you tell the task force that you knew who Kira was?" he asked, looking at me skeptically. That's when I realized that Light was dead and Ryuk was gone. I guess since the death note was destroyed, Ryuk went back to the spirit world.

"Honestly, I don't know. I guess I was just worried that I would be prosecuted as well." I said, taking a sip of water. "...But, when Light was threatening to kill me, and when he wrote down my name in the death note, I thought against it and announced Kira's true identity."

"Poor kid. Light was such a vibrant and brilliant guy." Matsuda said, looking down at the floor. "He had such a bright future. I almost feel sorry that he turned out to be Kira. But, you gotta do what you gotta do."

"Especially considering that he was killing every person who opposed him. They all died. Except for you, Midori." Near said, glancing at me. That's when I realized it.

I survived the death note.

**END OF STORY**


End file.
